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Kosh And Her aunts, — P ag** 



Eight Cousins 


AUTHOR 

a 


OR, 


THE AUNT-HILL. 


BY 

LOUISA m/alCOTT, 

v\ 

OF “little women,” “an old-fashioned girl,” “little men, 

ROSE IN BLOOM,” “UNDER THE LILACS,” “JACK AND GILL,” 

“ HOSPITAL SKETCHES,” “WORK,” “SILVER PITCHERS,” 

“aunt jo’s SCRAP-BAG.” 


Mttfj IHlustrattons 



BOSTON: 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 



Copyright, 1874, 

By Louisa M. Alcott 

Copyright, 1902, 1903, 
By John S. P. Alcott. 





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cTcr 

TL_ 

Si^i^SoOr^ ’ 'w. 

0-V^ v\3Ls^ O^-VNw^ j 

S ^ js ^ vA cK-*_ «- 5>3^H) 

0-A CS— v - 9 — 



PREFACE. 


The Author is quite aware of the defects of this little 
story, many of which were unavoidable, as it first appeared 
serially. But, as Uncle Alec’s experiment was intended 
to amuse the young folks, rather than suggest educational 
improvements for the consideration of the elders, she 
trusts that these short-comings will be overlooked by the 
friends of the Eight Cousins, and she will try to make 
amends in a second volume, which shall attempt to show 
The Rose in Bloom. 


L. M. A. 



\ 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Two Girls 1 

II. The Clan 10 

III. Uncles 23 

IV. Aunts 37 

Y. A Belt and a Box 47 

YI. Uncle Alec’s Room 59 

VII. A Trip to China 71 

VIII. And what Came of it 84 

IX. Phebe’s Secret 93 

X. Rose’s Sacrifice 108 

XI. Poor Mac 118 

XII. “ The Other Fellows ” 129 

XIII. Cosey Corner 141 

XIV. A Happy Birthday 149 

XV. Ear-Rings 165 

XVI. Bread and Button-Holes 179 

XVII. Good Bargains 191 

XVIII. Fashion and Physiology 204 

XIX. Brother Bones 216 

XX. Under the Mistletoe 226 

XXI. A Scare 241 

XXII. Something to do 253 

XXIII. Peace-making 265 

XXIV. Which? 279 

















* 




































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• 1 











* 





I 




. \ 
















EIGHT COUSINS, 


CHAPTER I. 

TWO GIRLS. 

R OSE sat all alone in the big best parlor, with her 
little handkerchief laid ready to catch the first 
tear, for she was thinking of her troubles, and a shower 
was expected. She had retired to this room as a good 
place in which to be miserable ; for it was dark and 
still, full of ancient furniture, sombre curtains, 2nd 
hung all round with portraits of solemn old gentlemen 
in wigs, severe-nosed ladies in top-heavy caps, and star- 
ing children in little bob-tailed coats or short-waisted 
frocks. It was an excellent place for woe; and the 
fitful spring rain that pattered on the window-pane 
seemed to sob, “ Cry away : I ’m with you.” 

Rose really did have some cause to be sad ; for she 
had no mother, and had lately lost her father also, 
which left her no home but this with her great-aunts. 
She had been with them only a week, and, though the 
dear old ladies had tried their best to make her happy, 
they had not succeeded very well, for she was unlike 
any child they had ever seen, and they felt very much 
as if they had the care of a low-spirited butterfly. 
They had given her the freedom of the house, and 
1 


▲ 


•2 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


for a day or two she had amused herself roaming all 
over it, for it was a capital old mansion, and was full 
of all manner of odd nooks, charming rooms, and mys- 
terious passages. Windows broke out in unexpected 
places, little balconies overhung the garden most ro- 
mantically, and there was a long upper hall full of 
curiosities from all parts of the world ; for the Camp- 
bells had been sea-captains for generations. 

Aunt Plenty had even allowed Rose to rummage in 
her great china closet, — a spicy retreat, rich in all the 
“ goodies ” that children love ; but Rose seemed to care 
little for these toothsome temptations ; and when that 
hope failed, Aunt Plenty gave up in despair. 

Gentle Aunt Peace had tried all sorts of pretty 
needle-work, and planned a doll’s wardrobe that would 
have won the heart of even an older child. But Rose 
took little interest in pink satin hats and tiny hose, 
though she sewed dutifully till her aunt caught her 
wiping tears away with the train of a wedding-dress, 
and that discovery put an end to the sewing society. 

Then both old ladies put their heads together and 
picked out the model child of the neighborhood to 
come and play with their niece. But Annabel Bibs 
was the worst failure of all, for Rose could not bear 
the sight of her, and said she was so like a wax doll 
she longed to give her a pinch and see if she would 
squeak. So prim little Annabel was sent home, and 
the exhausted aunties left Rose to her own devices for 
a day or two. 

Bad weather and a cold kept her in-doors, and she 
spent most of her time in the library where her father’s 
books were stored. Here she read a great deal, cried 


TWO GIRLS. 


3 


a little, and dreamed many of the innocent bright 
dreams in which imaginative children find such com- 
fort and delight. This suited her better than any thing 
else, but it was not good for her, and she grew pale, 
heavy-eyed, and listless, though Aunt Plenty gave her 
iron enough to make a cooking-stove, and Aunt Peace 
petted her like a poodle. 

Seeing this, the poor aunties racked their brains for 
a new amusement, and determined to venture a bold 
stroke, though not very hopeful of its success. They 
said nothing to Rose about their plan for this Saturday 
afternoon, but let her alone till the time came for the 
grand surprise, little dreaming that the odd child 
would find pleasure for herself in a most unexpected 
quarter. 

Before she had time to squeeze out a single tear a 
sound broke the stillness, making her prick up her 
ears. It was only the soft twitter of a bird, but it 
seemed to be a peculiarly gifted bird, for while she 
listened the soft twitter changed to a lively whistle, 
then a trill, a coo, a chirp, and ended in a musical mixt- 
ure of all the notes, as if the bird burst out laughing. 
Rose laughed also, and, forgetting her woes, jumped 
up, saying eagerly, — 

“ It is a mocking-bird. Where is it ? ” 

Running down the long hall, she peeped out at both 
doors, but saw nothing feathered except a draggle- 
tailed chicken under a burdock leaf. She listened 
again, and the sound seemed to be in the house. Away 
she went, much excited by the chase, and following 
the changeful song it led her to the china-closet door. 

“ In there ? How funny ! ” she said. But when she 


4 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


entered, not a bird appeared except the everlastingly 
kissing swallows on the Canton china that lined the 
shelves. All of a sudden Rose’s face brightened, and, 
softly opening the slide, she peered into the kitchen. 
But the music had stopped, and all she saw was a girl 
in a blue apron scrubbing the hearth. Rose stared 
about her for a minute, and then asked abruptly, — 

“ Rid you hear that mocking-bird ? ” 

« I should call it a phebe-bird,” answered the girL 
looking up with a twinkle in her black eyes- 
“ Where did it go ? ” 
cc It is here still.” 
u Where ? ” 

“In my throat. Do you want to hear it ? 55 
« Oh, yes ! I ’ll come in.” And Rose crept through 
the slide to the wide shelf on the other side, being too 
hurried and puzzled to go round by the door. 

The girl wiped her hands, crossed her feet on the 
little island of carpet where she was stranded in a sea 
of soap-suds, and then, sure enough, out of her slender 
throat came the swallow’s twitter, the robin’s whistle, 
the blue-jay’s call, the thrush’s song, the wood-dove’s 
coo, and many another familiar note, all ending as 
before with the musical ecstasy of a bobolink singing 
and swinging among the meadow grass on a bright 
June day. 

Rose was so astonished that she nearly fell off her 
perch, and when the little concert was over clapped 
her hands delightedly. 

“ Oh, it was lovely ! Who taught you ? ” 

“ The birds,” answered the girl, with a smile, as she 
fell to work again. 


TWO GIRLS. 


5 


“ It is very wonderful ! I can sing, but nothing half 
so fine as that. What is your name, please ? ” 

w Phebe Moore.” 

“ I ’ve heard of phebe-birds ; but I don’t believe the 
real ones could do that,” laughed Rose, adding, as she 
watched with interest the scattering of dabs of soft 
soap over the bricks, “ May I stay and see you work ? 
It is very lonely in the parlor.” 

“Yes, indeed, if you want to,” answered Phebe, 
wringing out her cloth in a capable sort of way that 
impressed Rose very much. 

“ It must be fun to swash the water round and dig 
out the soap. I ’d love to do it, only aunt would n’t 
like it, I suppose,” said Rose, quite taken with the new 
employment. 

“ You ’d soon get tired, so you ’d better keep tidy 
and look on.” 

“ I suppose you help your mother a good deal ? ” 

“ I have n’t got any folks.” 

“ Why, where do you live, then ? ” 

“ I ’m going to live here, I hope. Debby wants some 
one to help round, and I ’ve come to try for a week.” 

“ I hope you will stay, for it is very dull,” said Rose, 
who had taken a sudden fancy to this girl, who sung 
like a bird and worked like a woman. 

“ Hope I shall ; for I ’m fifteen now, and old enough 
to earn my own living. You have come to stay a spell, 
haven’t you?” asked Phebe, looking U p at her guest 
and wondering how life could be dull to a girl who 
wore a silk frock, a daintily frilled apron, a pretty 
locket, and had her hair tied up with a velvet snood. 

“ Yes, I shall stay till my uncle comes. He is my 


6 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


guardian now, and I don’t know what he will do with 
me. Have you a guardian! ” 

“ My sakes, no ! I was left on the poor-house steps 
a little mite of a baby, and Miss Rogers took a liking 
to me, so I ’ve been there ever since. But she is dead 
now, and I take care of myself.” 

“ How interesting ! It is like Arabella Montgomery 
in the ‘ Gypsy’s Child.’ Did you ever read that sweet 
story ? ” asked Rose, who was fond of tales of found- 
lings, and had read many. 

“ I don’t have any books to read, and all the spare 
time I get I run off into the woods; that rests me 
better than stories,” answered Phebe, as she finished 
one job and began on another. 

Rose watched her as she got out a great pan of beans 
to look over, and wondered how it would seem to have 
life all work and no play. Presently Phebe seemed 
to think it was her turn to ask questions, and said, 
wistfully, — 

“You’ve had lots of schooling, I suppose?” 

“ Oh, dear me, yes ! I ’ve been at boarding-school 
nearly a year, and I ’m almost dead with lessons. The 
more I got, the more Miss Power gave me, and I was 
so miserable I ’most cried my eyes out. Papa never 
gave me hard things to do, and he always taught me 
so pleasantly I loved to study. Oh, we were so happy 
and so fond of one another ! But now he is gone, and 
I am left all alone.” 

The tear that would not come when Rose sat wait- 
ing for it came now of its own accord, — two of them 
in fact, — and rolled down her cheeks, telling the tale 
of love and sorrow better than any words could do it. 


TWO GIRLS. 


7 


For a minute there was no sound in the kitchen but 
tne little daughter’s sobbing and the sympathetic pat- 
ter of the rain. Phebe stopped rattling her beans from 
one pan to the other, and her eyes were full of pity as 
they rested on the curly head bent down on Rose’s 
knee, for she saw that the heart under the pretty locket 
ached with its loss, and the dainty apron was used to 
dry sadder tears than any she had ever shed. 

Somehow, she felt more contented with her brown 
calico gown and blue-checked pinafore ; envy changed 
to compassion ; and if she had dared she would have 
gone and hugged her afflicted guest. 

Fearing that might not be considered proper, she 
said, in her cheery voice, — 

“ I ’m sure you ain’t all alone with such a lot of folks 
belonging to you, and all so rich and clever. You ’ll 
be petted to pieces, Debby says, because you are the 
only girl in the family.” 

Phebe’s last words made Rose smile in spite of her 
tears, and she looked out from behind her apron with 
an April face, saying in a tone of comic distress, — 

“ That’s one of my troubles ! I ’ve got six aunts, and 
they all want me, and I don’t know any of them very 
well. Papa named this place the Aunt-hill, and now 
I see why.” 

Phebe laughed with her as she said encouragingly, — 
“ Every one calls it so, and it ’s a real good name, 
for all the Mrs. Campbells live handy by, and keep 
coming up to see the old ladies.” 

“ I could stand the aunts, but there are dozens of 
cousins, dreadful boys all of them, and I detest boys ! 
Some of them came to see me last Wednesday, but I 


8 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


was lying down, and when auntie came to call me 
I went under the quilt and pretended to be asleep. I 
shall have to see them some time, but I do dread it so.” 
And Rose gave a shudder, for, having lived alone with 
her invalid father, she knew nothing of boys, and con- 
sidered them a species of wild animal. 

“ Oh! I guess you ’ll like ’em. I ’ve seen ’em flying 
round when they come over from the Point, some- 
times in their boats and sometimes on horseback. If 
you like boats and horses, you’ll enjoy yourself first- 
rate.” 

“ But I don’t ! I ’m afraid of horses, and boats make 
me ill, and I hate boys ! ” And poor Rose wrung her 
hands at the awful prospect before her. One of these 
horrors alone she could have borne, but all together 
were too much for her, and she began to think of a 
speedy return to the detested school. 

Phebe laughed at her woe till the beans danced in 
the pan, but tried to comfort her by suggesting a means 
of relief. 

“ Perhaps your uncle will take you away where there 
ain’t any boys. Debby says he is a real kind man, and 
always brings heaps of nice things when he comes.” 

“ Yes, but you see that is another trouble, for I don’t 
know Uncle Alec at all. He hardly ever came to see 
us, though he sent me pretty things very often. Now 
I belong to him, and shall have to mind him, till I am 
eighteen. I may not like him a bit, and I fret about it 
all the time.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t borrow trouble, but have a real 
good time. I ’m sure I should think I was in clover if 
I had folks and money, and nothing to do but enjoy 


TWO GIRLS. 9 

myself,” began Phebe, but got no further, for a sudden 
rush and rumble outside made them both jump. 

“ It ’s thunder,” said Phebe. 

“ It ’s a circus ! ” cried Rose, who from her elevated 
perch had caught glimpses of a gay cart of some sort 
and several ponies with flying manes and tails. 

The sound died away, and the girls were about to 
continue their confidences when old Debby appeared, 
looking rather cross and sleepy after her nap. 

“ You are wanted in the parlor, Miss Rose.” 

“ Has anybody come ? ” 

“ Little girls should n’t ask questions, but do as they 
are bid,” was all Debby would answer. 

“ I do hope it is n’t Aunt Myra ; she always scares 
me out of my wits asking how my cough is, and groan- 
ing over me as if I was going to die,” said Rose, pre- 
paring to retire the way she came, for the slide, being 
cut for the admission of bouncing Christmas turkeys 
and puddings, was plenty large enough for a slender 
girl. 

“ Guess you ’ll wish it was Aunt Myra when you see 
who has come. Don’t never let me catch you coming 
into my kitchen that way again, or I ’ll shut you up in 
the big biler,” growled Debby, who thought it her duty 
to snub children on all occasions. 


CHAPTER II. 

THE CLAN. 

R OSE scrambled into the china-closet as rapidly as 
possible, and there refreshed herself by making 
faces at Debby, while she settled her plumage and 
screwed up her courage. Then she crept softly down 
the hall and peeped into the parlor. No one appeared, 
and all was so still she felt sure the company was up- 
stairs. So she skipped boldly through the half-open 
folding-doors, to behold on the other side a sight that 
nearly took her breath away. 

Seven boys stood in a row, — all ages, all sizes, all 
yellow-haired and blue-eyed, all in full Scotch costume, 
and all smiling, nodding, and saying as with one voice, 
“ How are you, cousin ? ” 

Rose gave a little gasp and looked wildly about her 
as if ready to fly, for fear magnified the seven and the 
room seemed full of boys. Before she could run, how- 
ever, the tallest lad stepped out of the line, saying 
pleasantly, — 

“Don’t be frightened. This is the clan come to 
welcome you; and I’m the chief, Archie, at your 
service.” 

He held out his hand as he spoke, and Rose timidly 


THE CLAN . 


11 



The Eight Cousins. — Page 10, 



12 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


put her own into a brown paw, which closed over the 
white morsel and held it as the chief continued his 
introductions. 

“We came in full rig, for we always turn out in 
style on grand occasions. Hope you like it. Now 
I ’ll tell you who these chaps are, and then we shall be 
all right. This big one is Prince Charlie, Aunt Clara’s 
boy. She has but one, so he is an extra good one. 
This old fellow is Mac, the bookworm, called Worm 
for short. This sweet creature is Steve the Dandy. 
Look at his gloves and top-knot, if you please. They 
are Aunt Jane’s lads, and a precious pair you ’d better 
believe. These are the Brats, my brothers, Geordie 
and Will, and Jamie the Baby. Now, my men, step 
out and show your manners.” 

At this command, to Rose’s great dismay, six more 
hands were offered, and it was evident that she was 
expected to shake them all. It was a trying moment 
to the bashful child; but, remembering that they 
were her kinsmen come to welcome her, she tried her 
best to return the greeting cordially. 

This impressive ceremony being over, the clan broke 
ranks, and both rooms instantly appeared to be per- 
vaded with boys. Rose hastily retired to the shelter 
of a big chair and sat there watching the invaders 
and wondering when her aunt would come and rescue 
her. 

As if bound to do their duty manfully, yet rather 
oppressed by it, each lad paused beside her chair in 
his wanderings, made a brief remark, received a still 
briefer answer, and then sheered off with a relieved 
expression. 


the clan. 


13 


Archie came first, and, leaning over the chair-back, 
observed in a paternal tone, — 

“ 1 ’P 1 glad you ’ve come, cousin, and I hope you ’ll 
find the Aunt-hill pretty jolly.” 

“ I think I shall.” 

Mac shook his hair out of his eyes, stumbled over a 
stool, and asked abruptly, — 

“ Did you bring any books with you ? ” 

“ Four boxes full. They are in the library.” 

Mac vanished from the room, and Steve, striking 
an attitude which displayed his costume effectively, 
said with an affable smile, — 

“We were sorry not to see you last Wednesday. 
I hope your cold is better.” 

“Yes, thank you.” And a smile began to dimple 
about Rose’s mouth as she remembered her retreat 
under the bed-cover. 

Feeling that he had been received with distin- 
guished marks of attention, Steve strolled away with 
his top-knot higher than ever, and Prince Charlie 
pranced across the room, saying in a free and easy 
tone, — 

“ Mamma sent her love and hopes you will be well 
enough to come over for a day next week. It must 
be desperately dull here for a little thing like you.” 

“ I ’m thirteen and a half, though I do look small,” 
cried Rose, forgetting her shyness in indignation at 
this insult to her newly acquired teens. 

“Beg pardon, ma’am; never should have guessed 
it.” And Charlie went off with a laugh, glad to have 
struck a spark out of his meek cousin. 

Geordie and Will came together, two sturdy eleven 


14 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


and twelve year olders, and, fixing their round blue 
eyes on Rose, fired off a question apiece as if it was 
a shooting match and she the target. 

“ Did you bring your monkey ? ” 

“ No ; he is dead.” 

“ Are you going to have a boat ? ” 

“ I hope not.” 

Here the two, with a right-about-face movement, 
abruptly marched away, and little Jamie demanded 
with childish frankness, — 

“ Did you bring me any thing nice ? ” 

“Yes, lots of candy,” answered Rose, whereupon 
Jamie ascended into her lap with a sounding kiss and 
the announcement that he liked her very much. 

This proceeding rather startled Rose, for the other 
lads looked and laughed, and in her confusion she said 
hastily to the young usurper, — 

“ Did you see the circus go by ? ” 

“When? Where?” cried all the boys in great 
excitement at once. 

“ Just before you came. At least I thought it was 
a circus, for I saw a red and black sort of cart and 
ever so many little ponies, and — ” 

She got no farther, for a general shout made her 
pause suddenly, as Archie explained the joke by saying 
in the middle of his laugh, — 

“ It was our new dog-cart and the Shetland ponies. 
You’ll never hear the last of your circus, cousin.” 

“ But there were so many, and they went so fast, 
and the cart was so very red,” began Rose, trying to 
explain her mistake. 

“ Come and see them all ! ” cried the Prince. And 


THE CLAN. 


15 


before she knew what was happening she was borne 
away to the barn and tumultuously introduced to three 
shaggy ponies and the gay new dog-cart. 

She had never visited these regions before, and had 
her doubts as to the propriety of her being there now, 
but when she suggested that “ Auntie might not like 
it,” there was a general cry of, — 

“ She told us to amuse you, and we can do it ever 
so much better out here than poking round in the 
house.” 

“I’m afraid I shall get cold without my sacque,” 
began Rose, who wanted to scay, but felt rather out 
of her element. 

“No, you won’t! We’ll fix you,” cried the lads, 
as one clapped his cap on her head, another tied a 
rough jacket round her neck by the sleeves, a third 
nearly smothered her in a carriage blanket, and a 
fourth threw open the door of the old barouche that 
stood there, saying with a flourish, — 

“ Step in, ma’am, and make yourself comfortable 
while we show you some fun.” 

So Rose sat in state enjoying herself very much, 
for the lads proceeded to dance a Highland Fling with 
a spirit and skill that made her clap her hands and 
laugh as she had not done for weeks. 

“ How is that, my lassie ? ” asked the Prince, coming 
up all flushed and breathless when the ballet was over. 

“ It was splendid ! I never went to the theatre but 
once, and the dancing was not half so pretty as this. 
What clever boys you must be ! ” said Rose, smiling 
upon her kinsmen like a little queen upon her subjects. 

“Ah, we’re a fine lot, and that is only the begin- 


16 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


ning of our larks. We haven’t got the pipes here 
or we ’d 

* Sing for you, play for you 
A dulcy melody.’ ” 

answered Charlie, looking much elated at her praise. 

“ I did not know we were Scotch ; papa never said 
any thing about it, or seemed to care about Scotland, 
except to have me sing the old ballads,” said Rose, be- 
ginning to feel as if she had left America behind her 
somewhere. 

“Neither did we till lately. We’ve been reading 
Scott’s novels, and all of a sudden we remembered that 
our grandfather was a Scotchman. So we hunted up 
the old stories, got a bagpipe, put on our plaids, and 
went in, heart and soul, for the glory of the clan. 
We’ve been at it some time now, and it ’s great fun. 
Our people like it, and I think we are a pretty canny 
set.” 

Archie said this from the other coach-step, where 
he had perched, while the rest climbed up before and 
behind to join in the chat as they rested. 

“I’m Fitzjames and he ’s Roderick Dhu, and we ’ll 
give you the broadsword combat some day. It ’s a 
great thing, you ’d better believe,” added the Prince. 

“ Yes, and you should hear Steve play the pipes. 
He makes ’em skirl like a good one,” cried Will from 
the box, eager to air the accomplishments of his race. 
1 “Mac’s the fellow to hunt up the old stories and 
tell us how to dress right, and pick out rousing bits 
for us to speak and sing,” put in Geordie, saying a 
good word for the absent Worm. 

“And what do you and Will do?” asked Rose of 


THE CLAN. 


17 


Jamie, who sat beside her as if bound to keep her in 
sight till the promised gift had been handed over. 

“ Oh, I ’m the little foot-page, and do errands, and 
Will and Geordie are the troops when we march, and 
the stags when we hunt, and the traitors when we 
want to cut any heads off.” 

“ They are very obliging, I ’m sure,” said Rose, 
whereat the “ utility men ” beamed with modest pride, 
and resolved to enact Wallace and Montrose as soon 
as possible for their cousin’s special benefit. 

“ Let ’s have a game of tag,” cried the Prince, swing- 
ing himself up to a beam with a sounding slap on 
Stevie’s shoulder. 

Regardless of his gloves, Dandy tore after him, and 
the rest swarmed in every direction as if bent on 
breaking their necks and dislocating their joints as 
rapidly as possible. 

It was a new and astonishing spectacle to Rose, 
fresh from a prim boarding-school, and she watched 
the active lads with breathless interest, thinking their 
antics far superior to those of Mops, the dear departed 
monkey. 

Will had just covered himself with glory by pitch- 
ing off of a high loft head first and coming up all right, 
when Phebe appeared with a cloak, hood, and rubbers, 
also a message from Aunt Plenty that “ Miss Rose 
was to come in directly.” 

“ All right ; we ’ll bring her ! ” answered Archie, 
issuing some mysterious order, which was so promptly 
obeyed that, before Rose could get out of the carriage, 
the boys had caught hold of the pole and rattled her 
out of the barn, round the oval and up to the front 

B 


18 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


door with a cheer that brought two caps to an upper 
window, and caused Debby to cry aloud from the 
back porch, — 

“ Them harum-scarum boys will certainly be the 
death of that delicate little creter ! ” 

But the “ delicate little creter ” seemed all the 
better for her trip, and ran up the steps looking rosy, 
gay, and dishevelled, to be received with lamentation 
by Aunt Plenty, who begged her to go and lie down 
at once. 

“ Oh, please don’t ! We have come to tea with our 
cousin, and we ’ll be as good as gold if you ’ll let us 
stay, auntie,” clamored the boys, who not only ap- 
proved of “ our cousin,” but had no mind to lose their 
tea, for Aunt Plenty’s name but feebly expressed her 
bountiful nature. 

“ Well, dears, you can ; only be quiet, and let Rose 
go and take her iron and be made tidy, and then we 
will see what we can find for supper,” said the old 
lady as she trotted away, followed by a volley of direc- 
tions for the approaching feast - 

“ Marmalade for me, auntie.” 

“ Plenty of plum-cake, please.” 

“ Tell Debby to trot out the baked pears.” 

“ I ’m your man for lemon-pie, ma’am.” 

“ Do have fritters ; Rose will like ’ em.” 

“ She ’d rather have tarts, I know.” 

When Rose came down, fifteen minutes later, with 
every curl smoothed and her most beruffled apron on, 
she found the boys loafing about the long hall, and 
paused on the half-way landing to take an observation, 
for till now she had not really examined her new-found 
cousins. 


THE CLAN. 


19 


There was a strong family resemblance among them, 
though some of the yellow heads were darker than 
others, some of the cheeks brown instead of rosy, and 
the ages varied all the way from sixteen-year-old 
Archie to Jamie, who was ten years younger. None 
of them were especially comely but the Prince, yet all 
were hearty, happy-looking lads, and Rose decided 
that boys were not as dreadful as she had expected 
to find them. 

They were all so characteristically employed that 
she could not help smiling as she looked. Archie and 
Charlie, evidently great cronies, were pacing up and 
down, shoulder to shoulder, whistling “ Bonnie Dun- 
dee;” Mac was reading in a corner, with his book 
close to his near-sighted eyes; Dandy was arranging 
his hair before the oval glass in the hat-stand ; Geordie 
and Will investigating the internal economy of the 
moon-faced clock ; and Jamie lay kicking up his heels 
on the mat at the foot of the stairs, bent on demand- 
ing his sweeties the instant Rose appeared. 

She guessed his intention, and forestalled his de- 
mand by dropping a handful of sugar-plums down 
upon him. 

At his cry of rapture the other lads looked up and 
smiled involuntarily, for the little kinswoman stand- 
ing there above was a winsome sight with her shy, 
soft eyes, bright hair, and laughing face. The black 
frock reminded them of her loss, and filled the boyish 
hearts with a kindly desire to be good to “ our cousin,” 
who had no longer any home but this. 

“ There she is, as fine as you please,” cried Steve, 
kissing his hand to her. 


20 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ Come on, Missy ; tea is ready,” added the Prince 
encouragingly. 

“ I shall take her in.” And Archie offered his arm 
with great dignity, an honor that made Rose turn as 
red as a cherry and long to run upstairs again. 

It was a merry supper, and the two elder boys 
added much to the fun by tormenting the rest with 
dark hints of some interesting event which was about 
to occur. Something uncommonly fine they declared 
it was, but enveloped in the deepest mystery for the 
present. 

“Did I ever see it?” asked Jamie. 

“Not to remember it; but Mac and Steve have, 
and liked it immensely,” answered Archie, thereby 
causing the two mentioned to neglect Debby’s delect- 
able fritters for several minutes, while they cudgelled 
their brains. 

“Who will have it first?” asked Will, with his 
mouth full of marmalade. 

“ Aunt Plenty, I guess.” 

“ When will she have it ? ” demanded Geordie, 
bouncing in his seat with impatience. 

“ Sometime on Monday.” 

“Heart alive! what is the boy talking about?” 
cried the old lady from behind the tall urn, which 
left little to be seen but the topmost bow of her cap. 

“ Does n’t auntie know ? ” asked a chorus of voices. 

“ No ; and that ’s the best of the joke, for she is 
desperately fond of it.” 

“ What color is it?” asked Rose, joining in the fun. 

“ Blue and brown.” 

“ Is it good to eat ?” asked Jamie, 


THE CLAN. 


21 


“Some people think so, but I shouldn’t like to 
try it,” answered Charlie, laughing so he spilt his 
tea. 

“ Who does it belong to ? ” put in Steve. 

Archie and the Prince stared at one another rather 
blankly for a minute, then Archie answered with a 
twinkle of the eye that made Charlie explode again, — <■ 

“ To Grandfather Campbell.” 

This was a poser, and they gave up the puzzle, 
though Jamie confided to Rose that he did not think 
he could live till Monday without knowing what this 
remarkable thing was. 

Soon after tea the Clan departed, singing “ All the 
blue bonnets are over the border ” at the tops of their 
voices. 

“ Well, dear, how do you like your cousins?” asked 
Aunt Plenty, as the last pony frisked round the corner 
and the din died away. 

“Pretty well, ma’am; but I like Phebe better.” 
An answer which caused Aunt Plenty to hold up her 
hands in despair and trot away to tell sister Peace 
that she never should understand that child, and it 
was a mercy Alec was coming soon to take the respon- 
sibility off their hands. 

Fatigued by the unusual exertions of the afternoon, 
Rose curled herself up in the sofa corner to rest and 
think about the great mystery, little guessing that she 
was to know it first of all. 

Right in the middle of her meditations, she fell 
asleep and dreamed she was at home again in her own 
little bed. She seemed to wake and see her father 
bending over her ; to hear him say, “ My little Rose ; ” 


22 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


to answer, “Yes, papa ; ” and then to feel him take her 
in his arms and kiss her tenderly. So sweet, so real 
was the dream, that she started up with a cry of joy 
to find herself in the arms of a brown, bearded man, 
who held her close, and whispered in a voice so like 
her father’s that she clung to him involuntarily, — 

“ This is my little girl, and I am Uncle Alec.” 


CHAPTER III. 


UNCLES. 

W HEN Rose woke next morning, she was not 
sure whether she had dreamed what occurred 
the night before, or it had actually happened. So 
she hopped up and dressed, although it was an hour 
earlier than she usually rose, for she could not sleep 
any more, being possessed with a strong desire to slip 
down and see if the big portmanteau and packing-cases 
were really in the hall. She seemed to remember tum- 
bling over them when she went to bed, for the aunts 
had sent her off very punctually, because they wanted 
their pet nephew all to themselves. 

The sun was shining, and Rose opened her window 
to let in the soft May air fresh from the sea. As she 
leaned over her little balcony, watching an early bird 
get the worm, and wondering how she should like 
Uncle Alec, she saw a man leap the garden wall and 
come whistling up the path. At first she thought it 
was some trespasser, but a second look showed her that 
it was her uncle returning from an early dip into the 
sea. She had hardly dared to look at him the night 
before, because whenever she tried to do so she always 
found a pair of keen blue eyes looking at her. Now 


24 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


she could take a good stare at him as he lingered along, 
looking about him as if glad to see the old place again. 

A brown, breezy man, in a blue jacket, with no hat 
on the curly head which he shook now and then like a 
water-dog ; broad-shouldered, alert in his motions, and 
with a general air of strength and stability about him 
which pleased Rose, though she could not explain the 
feeling of comfort it gave her. She had just said to 
herself, with a sense of relief, “ I guess I shall like him, 
though he looks as if he made people mind,” when he 
lifted his eyes to examine the budding horse-chestnut 
overhead, and saw the eager face peering down at him. 
He waved his hand to her, nodded, and called out in a 
bluff, cheery voice, — 

“ You are on deck early, little niece.” 

“ I got up to see if you had really come, uncle.” 

“Did you? Well, come down here and make sure 
of it.” 

“ I ’m not allowed to go out before breakfast, sir.” 

“ Oh, indeed ! ” with a shrug. “ Then I ’ll come 
aboard and salute,” he added ; and, to Rose’s great 
amazement, Uncle Alec went up one of the pillars of 
*he back piazza hand over hand, stepped across the 
*oof, and swung himself into her balcony, saying, as he 
landed on the wide balustrade : “ Have you any doubts 
about me now, ma’am ? ” 

Rose was so taken aback, she could only answer with 
a smile as she went to meet him. 

“How does my girl do this morning?” he asked, 
taking the little cold hand she gave him in both his big 
warm ones. 

“ Pretty well, thank you, sir.” 


UNCLES. 


25 


“ Ah, but it should be very well. Why is n’t it ? ” 

u I always wake up with a headache, and feel tired.” 

“ Don’t you sleep well ? ” 

“ I lie awake a long time, and then I dream, and my 
sleep does not seem to rest me much.” 

“ What do you do all day ? ” 

“ Oh, I read, and sew a little, and take naps, and sit 
with auntie.” 

“ No running about out of doors, or house-work, or 
riding, hey ? ” 

“ Aunt Plenty says I ’m not strong enough for much 
exercise. I drive out with her sometimes, but I don’t 
care for it.” 

“ I ’m not surprised at that,” said Uncle Alec, half 
to himself, adding, in his quick way : “ Who have you 
had to play with ? ” 

“No one but Annabel Bliss, and she was such a 
goose I could n’t bear her. The boys came yesterday, 
and seemed rather nice ; but, of course, I could n’t play 
with them.” 

“ Why not?” 

“ I ’m too old to play with boys.” 

“Not a bit of it: that’s just what you need, for 
you ’ve been molly-coddled too much. They are good 
lads, and you ’ll be mixed up with them more or less 
for years to come, so you may as well be friends and 
playmates at once. I will look you up some girls also, 
if I can find a sensible one who is not spoilt by her 
nonsensical education.” 

“ Phebe is sensible, I ’m sure, and I like her, though 
I only saw her yesterday,” cried Rose, waking up sud- 
denly. 


26 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ And who is Phebe, if you please ? ” 

Rose eagerly told all she knew, and Uncle Alec lis- 
tened, with an odd smile lurking about his mouth, 
though his eyes were quite sober as he watched the 
face before him. 

“I’m glad to see that you are not aristocratic in 
your tastes, but I don’t quite make out why you like 
this young lady from the poor-house.” 

“ You may laugh at me, but I do. I can’t tell why, 
only she seems so happy and busy, and sings so beauti- 
fully, and is strong enough to scrub and sweep, and 
has n’t any troubles to plague her,” said Rose, making 
a funny jumble of reasons in her efforts to explain. 

“ How do you know that?” 

“ Oh, I was telling her about mine, and asked if she 
had any, and she said, ‘ No, only I ’d like to go to school, 
and I mean to some day.’ ” 

“ So she does n’t call desertion, poverty, and hard 
work, troubles ? She ’s a brave little girl, and I shall 
be proud to know her.” And Uncle Alec gave an ap- 
proving nod, that made Rose wish she had been the 
one to earn it. 

“But what are these troubles of yours, child?” he 
asked, after a minute of silence. 

“ Please don’t ask me, uncle.” 

“ Can’t you tell them to me as well as to Phebe ? ” 

Something in his tone made Rose feel that it would 
be better to speak out and be done with it, so she 
answered, with sudden color and averted eyes, — 

“ The greatest one was losing dear papa.” 

As she said that, Uncle Alec’s arm came gently 
round her, and he drew her to him, saying, in the voice 
so like papa’s, — 


UNCLES. 


27 


“ That is a trouble which I cannot cure, my child ; 
but I shall try to make you feel it less. What else, 
dear?” 

“ I am so tired and poorly all the time, I can’t do 
any thing I want to, and it makes me cross,” sighed 
Rose, rubbing the aching head like a fretful child. 

“ That we can cure and we icil!” said her uncle, with 
a decided nod that made the curls bob on his head, 
so that Rose saw the gray ones underneath the brown. 

“ Aunt Myra says I have no constitution, and never 
shall be strong,” observed Rose, in a pensive tone, as if 
it was rather a nice thing to be an invalid. 

“Aunt Myra is a — ahem! — an excellent woman, 
but it is her hobby to believe that every one is totter- 
ing on the brink of the grave ; and, upon my life, I 
believe she is offended if people don’t fall into it ! We 
will show her how to make constitutions and turn pale- 
faced little ghosts into rosy, hearty girls. That ’s my 
business, you know,” he added, more quietly, for his 
sudden outburst had rather startled Rose. 

“ I had forgotten you were a doctor. I ’m glad of it/, 
for I do want to be well, only I hope you won’t give 
me much medicine, for I ’ve taken quarts already, and 
it does me no good.” 

As she spoke, Rose pointed to a little table just in- 
side the window, on which appeared a regiment of 
bottles. 

“ Ah, ha ! Now we ’ll see what mischief these blessed 
women have been at.” And, making a long arm, Dr. 
Alec set the bottles on the wide railing before him, 
examined each carefully, smiled over some, frowned 
over others, and said, as he put down the last : “Now 


28 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


I ’ll show you the best way to take these messes.” And, 
as quick as a flash, he sent one after another smashing 
down into the posy-beds below. 

“ But Aunt Plenty won’t like it ; and Aunt Myra will 
be angry, for she sent most of them ! ” cried Rose, half 
frightened and half pleased at such energetic measures. 

“ You are my patient now, and I ’ll take the respon- 
sibility. My way of giving physic is evidently the 
best, for you look better already,” he said, laughing so 
infectiously that Rose followed suit, saying saucily, — 

“If I don’t like your medicines any better than 
those, I shall throw them into the garden, and then 
what will you do ? ” 

“ When I prescribe such rubbish, I ’ll give you leave 
to pitch it overboard as soon as you like. Now what 
is the next trouble?” 

“ I hoped you would forget to ask.” 

“But how can I help you if I don’t know them? 
Come, let us have No. 3.” 

It is very wrong, I suppose, but I do sometimes 
wish I had not quite so many aunts. They are all very 
good to me, and I want to please them ; but they are 
so different, I feel sort of pulled to pieces among them,” 
said Rose, trying to express the emotions of a stray 
chicken with six hens all clucking over it at once. 

Uncle Alec threw back his head and laughed like a 
boy, for he could entirely understand how the good 
ladies had each put in her oar and tried to paddle her 
own way, to the great disturbance of the waters and 
the entire bewilderment of poor Rose. 

“ I intend to try a course of uncles now, and see how 
that suits your constitution. I ’m going to have you 


UNCLES. 


29 


all to myself, and no one is to give a word of advice 
unless I ask it. There is no other way to keep order 
aboard, and I am captain of this little craft, for a time 
at least. What comes next ? ” 

But Rose stuck there, and grew so red, her uncle 
guessed what that trouble was. 

“ I don’t think I can tell this one. It would n’t be 
polite, and I feel pretty sure that it is n’t going to be a 
trouble any more.” 

As she blushed and stammered over these words, Dr. 
Alec turned his eyes away to the distant sea, and said 
so seriously, so tenderly, that she felt every word and 
long remembered them, — 

“ My child, I don’t expect you to love and trust me 
all at once, but I do want you to believe that I shall 
give my whole heart to this new duty ; and if I make 
mistakes, as I probably shall, no one will grieve over 
them more bitterly than I. It is my fault that I am a 
stranger to you, when I want to be your best friend. 
That is one of my mistakes, and I never repented it 
more deeply than I do now. Your father and I had 
a trouble once, and I thought I never could forgivq 
him ; so I kept away for years. Thank God, we made 
it all up the last time I saw him, and he told me then, 
that if he was forced to leave her he should bequeatl) 
his little girl to me as a token of his love. I can’t lib 
his place, but I shall try to be a father to her ; and if 
she learns to love me half as well as she did the good 
one she has lost, I shall be a proud and happy man. 
Will she believe this and try?” 

Something in Uncle Alec’s face touched Rose to the 
heart, and when he held out his hand with that anx- 


30 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


ious, troubled look in his eyes, she was moved to put 
up her innocent lips and seal the contract with a con- 
fiding kiss. The strong arm held her close a minute, 
and she felt the broad chest heave once as if with a 
great sigh of relief ; but not a word was spoken till a 
tap at the door made both start. 

Rose popped her head through the window to say 
“ come in,” while Dr. Alec hastily rubbed the sleeve 
of his jacket across his eyes and began to whistle 
again. 

Phebe appeared with a cup of coffee. 

“ Debby told me to bring this and help you get up,” 
she said, opening her black eyes wide, as if she won- 
dered how on earth “ the sailor man ” got there. 

“ I ’m all dressed, so I don’t need any help. I hope 
that is good and strong,” added Rose, eying the steam- 
ing cup with an eager look. 

But she did not get it, for a brown hand took pos- 
session of it as her uncle said quickly, — 

“ Hold hard, my lass, and let me overhaul that dose 
before you take it. Do you drink all this strong coffee 
every morning, Rose ? ” 

“ Yes, sir, and I like it. Auntie says it ‘ tones’ me 
up, and I always feel better after it.” 

“ This accounts for the sleepless nights, the flutter 
your heart gets into at the least start, and this is why 
that cheek of yours is pale yellow instead of rosy red. 
No more coffee for you, my dear, and by and by you ’ll 
see that I am right. Any new milk downstairs, 
Phebe?” 

“Yes, sir, plenty, — right in from the barn.” 

“ That ’s the drink for my patient. Go bring me a 


UNCLES. 


31 


pitcherful, and another cup ; I want a draught myself. 
This won’t hurt the honeysuckles, for they have no 
nerves to speak of.” And, to Rose’s great discomfort, 
the coffee went after the medicine. 

Dr. Alec saw the injured look she put on, but took 
no notice, and presently banished it by saying pleas- 
antly, — 

u I ve a capital little cup among my traps, and 
I’ll give it to you to drink your milk in, as it is made 
of wood that is supposed to improve whatever is put 
into it, — something like a quassia cup. That reminds 
me ; one of the boxes Phebe wanted to lug upstairs 
last night is for you. Knowing that I was coming 
home to find a ready-made daughter, I picked up all 
sorts of odd and pretty trifles along the way, hoping 
she would be able to find something she liked among 
them all. Early to-morrow we ’ll have a grand rum- 
mage. Here ’s our milk ! I propose the health of Miss 
Rose Campbell — and drink it with all my heart.” 

It was impossible for Rose to pout with the prospect 
of a delightful boxful of gifts dancing before her eyes ; 
so, in spite of herself, she smiled as she drank her own 
health, and found that fresh milk was not a hard dose 
to take. 

“ Now I must be off, before I am caught again with 
my wig in a toss,” said Dr. Alec, preparing to descend 
the way he came. 

“ Do you always go in and out like a cat, uncle ? ” 
asked Rose, much amused at his odd ways. 

“ I used to sneak out of my window when I was a 
boy, so I need not disturb the aunts, and now I rather 
like it, for it ’s the shortest road, and it keeps me lim- 


32 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


ber when I have no rigging to climb. Good-by till 
breakfast.” And away he went down the water-spout, 
over the roof, and vanished among the budding honey- 
suckles below. 

“ Ain’t he a funny guardeen ? ” exclaimed Phebe, as 
she went off with the cups. 

“ He is a very kind one, I think,” answered Rose, 
following, to prowl round the big boxes and try to 
guess which was hers. 

When her uncle appeared at sound of the bell, he 
found her surveying with an anxious face a new dish 
that smoked upon the table. 

“ Got a fresh trouble, Rosy ? ” he asked, stroking her 
smooth head. 

“Uncle, are you going to make me eat oatmeal?” 
asked Rose, in a tragic tone. 

“ Don’t you like it ? ” 

“ I de-test it ! ” answered Rose, with all the emphasis 
which a turned-up nose, a shudder, and a groan could 
give to the three words. 

“ You are not a true Scotchwoman, if you don’t like 
the 4 parritch.’ It ’s a pity, for I made it myself, and 
thought we’d have such a good time with all that 
cream to float it in. Well, never mind.” And he sat 
down with a disappointed air. 

Rose had made up her mind to be obstinate about 
it, because she did heartily “ detest” the dish ; but as 
Uncle Alec did not attempt to make her obey, she 
suddenly changed her mind and thought she would. 

“ I ’ll try to eat it to please you, uncle ; but people 
are always saying how wholesome it is, and that makes 
me hate it,” she said, half ashamed at her silly excuse. 


UNCLES . 


33 


“ I do want you to like it, because I wish my girl to 
be as well and strong as Jessie’s boys, who are brought 
up on this in the good old fashion. No hot bread and 
fried stuff for them, and they are the biggest and bon 
niest lads of the lot. Bless you, auntie, and good 
morning ! ” 

Dr. Alec turned to greet the old lady, and, with a 
firm resolve to eat or die in the attempt, Rose sat 
down. 

In five minutes she forgot what she was eating, so 
interested was she in the chat that went on. It amused 
her very much to hear Aunt Plenty call her forty-year- 
old nephew “ my dear boy ; ” and Uncle Alec was so 
full of lively gossip about all creation in general, and 
the Aunt-hill in particular, that the detested porridge 
vanished without a murmur. 

“ You will go to church with us, I hope, Alec, if you 
are not too tired,” said the old lady, when breakfast 
was over. 

“ I came all the way from Calcutta for that express 
purpose, ma’am. Only I must send the sisters word of 
my arrival, for they don’t expect me till to-morrow, 
you know, and there will be a row in church if those 
boys see me without warning.” 

“ I ’ll send Ben up the hill, and you can step over to 
Myra’s yourself ; it will please her, and you will have 
plenty of time.” 

Dr. Alec was off at once, and they saw no more 
of him till the old barouche was at the door, and 
Aunt Plenty just rustling downstairs in her Sunday 
best, with Rose like a little black shadow behind 

her. 


34 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


Away they drove in state, and all the way Uncle 
Alec’s hat was more off his head than on, for every one 
they met smiled and bowed, and gave him as blithe a 
greeting as the day permitted. 

It was evident that the warning had been a wise one, 
for, in spite of time and place, the lads were in such a 
ferment that their elders sat in momentary dread of 
an unseemly outbreak somewhere. It was simply im- 
possible to keep those fourteen eyes off Uncle Alec, 
and the dreadful things that were done during sermon- 
time will hardly be believed. 

Rose dared not look up after a while, for these bad 
boys vented their emotions upon her till she was 
ready to laugh and cry with mingled amusement and 
vexation. Charlie winked rapturously at her behind 
his mother’s fan ; Mac openly pointed to the tall fig- 
ure beside her; Jamie stared fixedly over the back 
of his pew, till Rose thought his round eyes would 
drop out of his head ; George fell over a stool and 
dropped three books in his excitement; Will drew 
sailors and Chinamen on his clean cuffs, and displayed 
them, to Rose’s great tribulation ; Steve nearly upset 
the whole party by burning his nose with salts, as he 
pretended to be overcome by his joy ; even dignified 
Archie disgraced himself by writing in his hymn-book, 
“Isn’t he blue and brown?” and passing it politely 
to Rose. 

Her only salvation was trying to fix her attention 
upon Uncle Mac, — a portly, placid gentleman, who 
seemed entirely unconscious of the iniquities of the 
Clan, and dozed peacefully in his pew corner. This 
was the only uncle Rose had met for years, for Uncle 


UNCLES. 35 

Jem and Uncle Steve, the husbands of Aunt Jessie 
and Aunt Clara, were at sea, and Aunt Myra was 
a widow. Uncle Mac was a merchant, very rich 
and busy, and as quiet as a mouse at home, for he 
was in such a minority among the women folk he 
dared not open his lips, and let his wife rule undis- 
turbed. 

Rose liked the big, kindly, silent man who came to 
her when papa died, was always sending her splendid 
boxes of goodies at school, and often invited her into 
his great warehouse, full of teas and spices, wines and 
all sorts of foreign fruits, there to eat and carry away 
whatever she liked. She had secretly regretted that 
he was not to be her guardian ; but since she had seen 
Uncle Alec she felt better about it, for she did not 
particularly admire Aunt Jane. 

When church was over, Dr. Alec got into the porch 
as quickly as possible, and there the young bears had 
a hug all round, while the sisters shook hands and wel- 
comed him with bright faces and glad hearts. Rose 
was nearly crushed flat behind a door in that danger- 
ous passage from pew to porch ; but Uncle Mac res- 
cued her, and put her into the carriage for safe 
keeping. 

“Now, girls, I want you all to come and dine with 
Alec; Mac also, of course. But I cannot ask the 
boys, for we did not expect this dear fellow till to- 
morrow, you know, so I made no preparations. Send 
the lads home, and let them wait till Monday, for 
really I was shocked at their behavior in church,” 
said Aunt Plenty, as she followed Rose. 

In any other place the defrauded boys would have 


36 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


set up a howl ; as it was, they growled and protested 
till Dr. Alec settled the matter by saying, — 

“Never mind, old chaps, I’ll make it up to you 
to-morrow, if you sheer off quietly ; if you don’t, not 
a blessed thing shall you have out of my big boxes.’' 


CHAPTER IV. 


AUNTS. 

A LL dinner-time Rose felt that she was going to be 
talked about, and afterward she was sure of it, 
for Aunt Plenty whispered to her as they went into 
the parlor, — 

“ Run up and sit awhile with Sister Peace, my dear. 
She likes to have you read while she rests, and we are 
going to be busy.” 

Rose obeyed, and the quiet rooms above were so 
like a church that she soon composed her ruffled feel- 
ings, and was unconsciously a little minister of happi- 
ness to the sweet old lady, who for years had sat there 
patiently waiting to be set free from pain. 

Rose knew the sad romance of her life, and it gave 
a certain tender charm to this great-aunt of hers, 
whom she already loved. When Peace was twenty, 
she was about to be married ; all was done, the wed- 
ding-dress lay ready, the flowers were waiting to be 
put on, the happy hour at hand, when word came 
that the lover was dead. They thought that gentle 
Peace would die too ; but she bore it bravely, put 
away her bridal gear, took up her life afresh, and 
lived on, — a beautiful, meek woman, with hair as 


38 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


white as snow and cheeks that never bloomed again. 
She wore no black, but soft, pale colors, as if always 
ready for the marriage that had never come. 

For thirty years she had lived on, fading slowly, 
but cheerful, busy, and full of interest in all that went 
on in the family ; especially the joys and sorrows of 
the young girls growing up about her, and to them 
she was adviser, confidante, and friend in all their 
tender trials and delights. A truly beautiful old 
maiden, with her silvery hair, tranquil face, and an 
atmosphere of repose about her that soothed whoever 
came to her ! 

Aunt Plenty was utterly dissimilar, being a stout, 
brisk old lady, with a sharp eye, a lively tongue, and 
a face like a winter-apple. Always trotting, chatting, 
and bustling, she was a regular Martha, cumbered 
with the cares of this world and quite happy in them. 

Rose was right; and while she softly read psalmf 
to Aunt Peace, the other ladies were talking about 
her little self in the frankest manner. 

“ W ell, Alec, how do you like your ward ? ” began 
Aunt Jane, as they all settled down, and Uncle Mao 
deposited himself in a corner to finish his doze. 

“I should like her better if I could have begun at 
the beginning, and so got a fair start. Poor George 
led such a solitary life that the child has suffered in 
many ways, and since he died she has been going on 
worse than ever, judging from the state I find her in.” 

“ My dear boy, we did what we thought best while 
waiting for you to wind up your affairs and get home. 
I always told George he was wrong to bring her up as 
he did ; but he never took mv advice, and now here 


AUNTS. 


39 


we are with this poor dear child upon our hands. 
I, for one, freely confess that I don’t know what to 
do with her any more than if she was one of those 
strange, outlandish birds you used to bring home 
from foreign parts.” And Aunt Plenty gave a per- 
plexed shake of the head which caused great commo- 
tion among the stiff loops of purple ribbon that bristled 
all over her cap like crocus buds. 

“If my advice had been taken, she would have 
remained at the excellent school where I placed her. 
But our aunt thought best to remove her because she 
complained, and she has been dawdling about ever 
since she came. A most ruinous state of things for 
a morbid, spoilt girl like Rose,” said Mrs. Jane, 
severely. 

She had never forgiven the old ladies for yielding 
to Rose’s pathetic petition that she might wait her 
guardian’s arrival before beginning another term at 
the school, which was a regular Blimber hot-bed, and 
turned out many a feminine Toots. 

“ I never thought it the proper school for a child 
in good circumstances, — an heiress, in fact, as Rose is. 
It is all very well for girls who are to get their own 
living by teaching, and that sort of thing ; but all she 
needs is a year or two at a fashionable finishing-school, 
so that at eighteen she can come out with eclat” put 
in Aunt Clara, who had been a beauty and a belle, and 
was still a handsome woman. 

“Dear, dear! how short-sighted you all are to be 
discussing education and plans for the future, when 
this unhappy child is so plainly marked for the tomb,” 
sighed Aunt Myra, with a lugubrious sniff and a sol- 


40 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


emn wag of the funereal bonnet, which she refused 
to remove, being afflicted with a chronic catarrh. 

“Now, it is my opinion that the dear thing only 
wants freedom, rest, and care. There is a look in her 
eyes that goes to my heart, for it shows that she feels 
the need of what none of us can give her, — a mother,” 
said Aunt Jessie, with tears in her own bright eyes at 
the thought of her boys being left, as Rose was, to the 
care of others. 

Uncle Alec, who had listened silently as each spoke, 
turned quickly toward the last sister, and said, with a 
decided nod of approval, — 

“ You ’ve got it, Jessie ; and, with you to help me, I 
hope to make the child feel that she is not quite father- 
less and motherless.” 

“ I ’ll do my best, Alec ; and I think you will need 
me, for, wise as you are, you cannot understand a ten- 
der, timid little creature like Rose as a woman can,” 
said Mrs. Jessie, smiling back at him with a heart full 
of motherly good-will. 

“I cannot help feeling that I, who have had a 
daughter of my own, can best bring up a girl ; and I 
am very much surprised that George did not intrust 
her to me,” observed Aunt Myra, with an air of mel- 
ancholy importance, for she was the only one who had 
given a daughter to the family, and she felt that she 
had distinguished herself, though ill-natured people 
said that she had dosed her darling to death. 

“ I never blamed him in the least, when I remember 
the perilous experiments you tried with poor Carrie,” 
began Mrs. Jane, in her hard voice. 

“ Jane Campbell, I will not hear a word ! My sainted 


AUNTS. 


41 


Caroline is a sacred subject,” cried Aunt Myra, rising 
as if to leave the room. 

Dr. Alec detained her, feeling that he must define 
his position at once, and maintain it manfully if he 
hoped to have any success in his new undertaking. 

“ Now, my dear souls, don’t let us quarrel and make 
Rose a bone of contention, — though, upon my word, 
she is almost a bone, poor little lass ! You have had 
her among you for a year, and done what you liked. 
I cannot say that your success is great, but that is 
owing to too many fingers in the pie. Now, I intend 
to try my way for a year, and if at the end of it she 
is not in better trim than now, I ’ll give up the case, 
and hand her over to some one else. That ’s fair, I 
think.” 

“ She will not be here a year hence, poor darling, so 
no one need dread future responsibility,” said Aunt 
Myra, folding her black gloves as if all ready for the 
funeral. 

“By Jupiter, Myra, you are enough to damp the. 
ardor of a saint ! ” cried Dr. Alec, with a sudden spark 
in his eyes. “Your croaking will worry that child 
out of her wits, for she is an imaginative puss, and 
will fret and fancy untold horrors. You have put it 
into her head that she has no constitution, and she 
rather likes the idea. If she had not had a pretty 
good one, she would have been * marked for the tomb ’ 
by this time, at the rate you have been going on with 
her. I will not have any interference, — please under- 
stand that ; so just wash your hands of her, and let me 
manage till I want help, then I ’ll ask for it.” 

“Hear, hear! ’’came from the corner where Uncle 
Mac was apparently wrapt in slumber. 


42 


J EIGHT COUSINS. 


“You were appointed guardian, so we can do noth- 
ing. But I predict that the girl will be spoilt, utterly 
spoilt,” answered Mrs. Jane, grimly. 

“ Thank you, sister. I have an idea that if a woman 
can bring up two boys as perfectly as you do yours, a 
man, if he devotes his whole mind to it, may at least 
attempt as much with one girl,” replied Dr. Alec, with 
a humorous look that tickled the others immensely, for 
it was a well-known fact in the family that J ane’s boys 
were more indulged than all the other lads put to- 
gether. 

“ I am quite easy, for I really do think that Aleo 
will improve the child’s health ; and by the time his 
year is out, it will be quite soon enough for her to go 
to Madame Roccabella’s and be finished off,” said Aunt 
Clara, settling her rings, and thinking, with languid 
satisfaction, of the time when she could bring out a 
pretty and accomplished niece. 

“ I suppose you will stay here in the old place, unless 
you think of marrying, and it ’s high time you did,” 
put in Mrs. Jane, much nettled at her brother’s last 
hit. 

“No, thank you. Come and have a cigar, Mac,” 
said Dr. Alec, abruptly. 

“Don’t marry; women enough in the family al- 
ready,” muttered Uncle Mac ; and then the gentlemen 
hastily fled. 

“ Aunt Peace would like to see you all, she says,” 
was the message Rose brought before the ladies could 
begin again. 

“ Hectic, hectic ! — dear me, dear me ! ” murmured 
Aunt Myra, as the shadow of her gloomy bonnet fell 


AUNTS. 


43 


upon Rose, and the stiff tips of a black glove touched 
the cheek where the color deepened under so many 
eyes. 

“ 1 am glad these pretty curls are natural ; they will 
be invaluable by and by,” said Aunt Clara, taking an 
observation with her head on one side. 

“ Now that your uncle has come, I no longer expect 
you to review the studies of the past year. I trust 
your time will not be entirely wasted in frivolous sports, 
however,” added Aunt Jane, sailing out of the room 
with the air of a martyr. 

Aunt Jessie said not a word, but kissed her little 
niece, with a look of tender sympathy that made Rose 
cling to her a minute, and follow her with grateful 
eyes as the door closed behind her. 

After everybody had gone home, Dr. Alec paced up 
and down the lower hall in the twilight for an hour, 
thinking so intently that sometimes he frowned, some- 
times he smiled, and more than once he stood still in a 
brown study. All of a sudden he said, half aloud, as 
if he had made up his mind, — 

“ I might as well begin at once, and give the child 
something new to think about, for Myra’s dismals and 
Jane’s lectures have made her as blue as a little indigo 
bag.” 

Diving into one of the trunks that stood in a corner, 
he brought up, after a brisk rummage, a silken cushion, 
prettily embroidered, and a quaint cup of dark carved 
wood. 

“ This will do for a start,” he said, as he plumped 
up the cushion and dusted the cup. “ It won’t do to 
begin too energetically, or Rose will be frightened. I 


44 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


must beguile her gently and pleasantly along till I ’ve 
won her confidence, and then she will be ready for 
any thing.” 

Just then Phebe came out of the dining-room with 
a plate of brown bread, for Rose had been allowed no 
hot biscuit for tea. 

“ I ’ll relieve you of some of that,” said Dr. Alec, 
and, helping himself to a generous slice, he retired to 
the study, leaving Phebe to wonder at his appetite. 

She would have wondered still more if she had seen 
him making that brown bread into neat little pills, 
which he packed into an attractive ivory box, out of 
which he emptied his own bits of lovage. 

“ There ! if they insist on medicine, I ’ll order these, 
and no harm will be done. I will have my own way, 
but I’ll keep the peace, if possible, and confess the 
joke when my experiment has succeeded,” he said to 
himself, looking very much like a mischievous boy, as 
he went off with his innocent prescriptions. 

Rose was playing softly on the small organ that 
stood in the upper hall, so that Aunt Peace could 
enjoy it; and all the while he talked with the old 
ladies Uncle Alec was listening to the fitful music of 
the child, and thinking of another Rose who used to 
play for him. 

As the clock struck eight, he called out, — 

“ Time for my girl to be abed, else she won’t be up 
early, and I ’m full of jolly plans for to-morrow. Come 
and see what I have found for you to begin upon.” 

Rose ran in and listened with bright, attentive face, 
while Dr. Alec said, impressively, — 

“ In my wanderings over the face of the earth, I 


A UNTS. 


45 


have picked up some excellent remedies, and, as they 
are rather agreeable ones, I think you and I will try 
them. This is an herb-pillow, given to me by a wise 
old woman when I was ill in India. It is filled with 
saffron, poppies, and other soothing plants ; so lay youi- 
little head on it to-night, sleep sweetly without a dream, 
and wake to-morrow without a pain.” 

“ Shall I really ? How nice it smells.” And Rose 
willingly received the pretty pillow, and stood enjoying 
its faint, sweet odor, as she listened to the doctor’s 
next remedy. 

“ This is the cup I told you of. Its virtue depends, 
they say, on the drinker filling it himself ; so you must 
learn to milk. I ’ll teach you.” 

“ I ’m afraid I never can,” said Rose ; but she sur- 
veyed the cup with favor, for a funny little imp danced 
on the handle, as if all ready to take a header into the 
white sea below. 

“Don’t you think she ought to have something 
more strengthening tnan milk, Alec ? I really shall 
feel anxious if she does not have a tonic of some sort,” 
said Aunt Plenty, eying the new remedies suspiciously, 
for she had more faith in her old-fashioned doses than 
all the magic cups and poppy pillows of the East. 

“ Well, ma’am, I ’m willing to give her a pill, if you 
think best. It is a very simple one, and very large 
quantities may be taken without harm. You know 
hasheesh is the extract of hemp? Well, this is a 
preparation of corn and rye, much used in old times, 
and I hope it will be again.” 

“ Dear me, how singular ! ” said Aunt Plenty, bring- 
ing her spectacles to bear upon the pills, with a face 


46 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


so full of respectful interest that it was almost too 
much for Dr. Alec’s gravity. 

“Take one in the morning, and a good-night to 
you, my dear,” he said, dismissing his patient with a 
hearty kiss. 

Then, as she vanished, he put both hands into his 
hair, exclaiming, with a comical mixture of anxiety and 
amusement, — 

“ When I think what I have undertaken, I declare 
£o you, aunt, I feel like running away and not coming 
back till Rose is eighteen ! ” 


CHAPTER V. 


A BELT AND A BOX. 

W HEN Rose came out of her chamber, cup in 
hand, next morning, the first person she saw 
was Uncle Alec standing on the threshold of the room 
opposite, which he appeared to be examining with 
care. When he heard her step, he turned about and 
began to sing, — 

“ Where are you going, my pretty maid ? ” 

“ I ’m going a-milking, sir, she said,” answered Rose, 
waving the cup ; and then they finished the verse to- 
gether in fine style. 

Before either spoke, a head, in a nightcap so large 
and beruffled that it looked like a cabbage, popped 
out of a room farther down the hall, and an astonished 
voice exclaimed, — 

“ What in the world are you about so early ? ” 

“ Clearing our pipes for the day, ma’am. Look here, 
auntie, can I have this room ? ” said Dr. Alec, making 
her a sailor’s bow. 

“ Any room you like, except sister’s.” 

“ Thanks. And may I go rummaging round in the 
garrets and glory-holes to furnish it as I like?” 

“My dear boy, you may turn the house upside 
down if you will only stay in it,” 


48 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“That’s a handsome offer, I’m sure. I’ll stay, 
ma’am ; here ’s my little anchor, so you will get more 
than you want of me this time.” 

“That’s impossible! Put on your jacket, Rose. 
Don’t tire her out with antics, Alec. Yes, sister, 
I’m coming!” and the cabbage vanished suddenly. 

The first milking lesson was a droll one ; but after 
several scares and many vain attempts, Rose at last 
managed to fill her cup, while Ben held Clover’s tail 
so that it could not flap, and Dr. Alec kept her from 
turning to stare at the new milk-maid, who objected 
to both these proceedings very much. 

“ You look chilly in spite of all this laughing. 
Take a smart run round the garden and get up a 
glow,” said the doctor, as they left the barn. 

“ I ’m too old for running, uncle ; Miss Power said 
it was not lady-like for girls in their teens,” answered 
Rose primly. 

“ I take the liberty of differing from Madame 
Prunes and Prisms, and, as your physician, I order 
you to run. Off with you ! ” said Uncle Alec, with 
a look and a gesture that made Rose scurry away 
as fast as she could go. 

Anxious to please him, she raced round the beds till 
she came back to the porch where he stood, and, 
dropping down upon the steps, she sat panting, with 
cheeks as rosy as the rigolette on her shoulders. 

“ Very well done, child ; I see you have not lost the 
use of your limbs though you are in your teens. That 
belt is too tight ; unfasten it, then you can take a long 
breath without panting so.” 

“ It is n’t tight, sir ; I can breathe perfectly well,” 
began Rose, trying to compose herself. 


A BELT AND A BOX. 


49 


Her uncle’s only answer was to lift her up and 
unhook the new belt of which she was so proud. 
The moment the clasp was open the belt flew apart 
several inches, for it was impossible to restrain the 
involuntary sigh of relief that flatly contradicted her 
words. 

“ Why, I did n’t know it was tight ! it did n’t feel 
so a bit. Of course it would open if I puff like this, 
but I never do, because I hardly ever run,” explained 
Rose, rather discomfited by this discovery. 

“ I see you don’t half fill your lungs, and so you 
can wear this absurd thing without feeling it. The 
idea of cramping a tender little waist in a stiff band 
of leather and steel just when it ought to be growing,” 
said Dr. Alec, surveying the belt with great disfavor 
as he put the clasp forward several holes, to Rose’s 
secret dismay, for she was proud of her slender figure, 
and daily rejoiced that she wasn’t as stout as Luly 
Miller, a former schoolmate, who vainly tried to re- 
press her plumpness. 

“ It will fall off if it is so loose,” she said anxiously, 
as she stood watching him pull her precious belt 
about. 

“Not if you keep taking long breaths to hold it on. 
That is what I want you to do, and when you have filled 
this out we will go on enlarging it till your waist is 
more like that of Hebe, goddess of health, and less 
like that of a fashion-plate, — the ugliest thing imagi- 
nable.” 

“ How it does look ! ” and Rose gave a glance of 
scorn at the loose belt hanging round her trim little 
waist. “ It will be lost, and then I shall feel badly, 


50 


EIGHT COUSIN’S. 


for it cost ever so much, and is real steel and Russia 
leather. Just smell how nice.” 

“ If it is lost I ’ll give you a better one. A soft 
silken sash is much fitter for a pretty child like you 
than a plated harness like this ; and I ’ve got no end 
of Italian scarfs and Turkish sashes among my traps. 
Ah ! that makes you feel better, does n’t it ? ” and he 
pinched the cheek that had suddenly dimpled with a 
smile. 

“ It is very silly of me, but I can’t help liking to 
know that ” — here she stopped and blushed and held 
down her head, ashamed to add, “you think I am 
pretty.” 

Dr. Alec’s eyes twinkled, but he said very so- 
berly, — 

“Rose, are you vain?” 

“I’m afraid I am,” answered a very meek voice 
from behind the veil of hair that hid the red face. 

“ That is a sad fault.” And he sighed as if grieved 
at the confession. 

“ I know it is, and I try not to be ; but people praise 
me, and I can’t help liking it, for I really don’t think 
I am repulsive.” 

The last word and the funny tone in which it was 
uttered were too much for Dr. Alec, and he laughed 
in spite of himself, to Rose’s great relief. 

“ I quite agree with you ; and in order that you 
may be still less repulsive, I want you to grow as fine 
a girl as Phebe.” 

“ Phebe ! ” and Rose looked so amazed that her 
uncle nearly went off again. 

“Yes, Phebe; for she has what you ijeed, — health. 


A BELT AND A BOX . 


51 


If you dear little girls would only learn what real 
beauty is, and not pinch and starve and bleach your- 
selves out so, you ’d save an immense deal of time and 
money and pain. A happy soul in a healthy body 
makes the best sort of beauty for man or woman. Do 
you understand that, my dear?” 

“Yes, sir,” answered Rose, much taken down by 
this comparison with the girl from the poor-house. 
It nettled her sadly, and she showed that it did by 
saying quickly, — 

“ I suppose you would like to have me sweep and 
scrub, and wear an old brown dress, and go round 
with my sleeves rolled up, as Phebe does?” 

“ I should very much, if you could work as well as 
she does, and show as strong a pair of arms as she 
can. I have n’t seen a prettier picture for some time 
than she made of herself this morning, up to the elbows 
in suds, singing like a blackbird while she scrubbed on 
the back stoop.” 

“Well, I do think you are the queerest man that 
ever lived ! ” was all Rose could find to say after this 
display of bad taste. 

“ I have n’t begun to show my oddities yet, so you 
must make up your mind to worse shocks than this,” 
he said, with such a whimsical look that she was glad 
the sound of a bell prevented her showing more plainly 
what a blow her little vanities had already received. 

“ You will find your box all open up in auntie’s parlor, 
and there you can amuse her and yourself by rum- 
maging to your heart’s content ; I ’ve got to be cruising 
round all the morning getting my room to rights,” 
said Dr. Alec, as they rose from breakfast. 


52 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


« Can’t I help you, uncle ? ” asked Rose, quite burn- 
ing to be useful. 

“ No, thank you. I ’m going to borrow Phebe for 
a while, if Aunt Plenty can spare her.” 

“Anybody, — any thing, Alec. You will want me, 
I know, so I’ll give orders about dinner and be all 
ready to lend a hand ; ” and the old lady bustled away 
full of interest and good-will. 

“ Uncle will find that I can do some things that 
Phebe can’t ; so now ! ” thought Rose, with a toss of 
the head as she flew to Aunt Peace and the long- 
desired box. 

Every little girl can easily imagine what an extra 
good time she had diving into a sea of treasures and 
fishing up one pretty thing after another, till the air 
was full of the mingled odors of musk and sandal-wood, 
the room gay with bright colors, and Rose in a rapture 
of delight. She began to forgive Dr. Alec for the 
oatmeal diet when she saw a lovely ivory work-box ; 
became resigned to the state of her belt when she 
found a pile of rainbow-colored sashes ; and when she 
came to some distractingly pretty bottles of attar of 
rose, she felt that they almost atoned for the great 
sin of thinking Phebe the finer girl of the two. 

Dr. Alec meanwhile had apparently taken Aunt 
Plenty at her word, and was turning the house upside 
down. A general revolution was evidently going on 
in the green-room, for the dark damask curtains were 
seen bundling away in Phebe’s arms ; the air-tight 
stove retiring to the cellar on Ben’s shoulder ; and the 
great bedstead going up garret in a fragmentary state, 
escorted by three bearers. Aunt Plenty was constantly 


A BELT AND A BOX. 


53 


on the trot among her store-rooms, camphor-chests, 
and linen-closets, looking as if the new order of things 
both amazed and amused her. 

Half the peculiar performances of Dr. Alec cannot 
be revealed ; but as Rose glanced up from her box 
now and then she caught glimpses of him striding by, 
bearing a bamboo chair, a pair of ancient andirons, a 
queer J apanese screen, a rug or two, and finally a large 
bathing-pan upon his head. 

“ What a curious room it will be,” she said, as she 
sat resting and refreshing herself with “Lumps of 
Delight,” all the way from Cairo. 

“I fancy you will like it, deary,” answered Aunt 
Peace, looking up with a smile from some pretty trifle 
she was making with blue silk and white muslin. 

Rose did not see the smile, for just at that moment 
her uncle paused at the door, and she sprang up to 
dance before him, saying, with a face full of childish 
happiness, — 

“ Look at me ! look at me ! I’mso splendid I don’t 
know myself. I haven’t put these things on right, I 
dare say, but I do like them so much ! ” 

“ You look as gay as a parrot in your fez and cabaja, 
and it does my heart good to see the little black 
shadow turned into a rainbow,” said Uncle Alec, 
surveying the bright figure before him with great 
approbation. 

He did not say it, but he thought she made a much 
prettier picture than Phebe at the wash-tub, for she 
had stuck a purple fez on her blonde head, tied several 
brilliant scarfs about her waist, and put on a truly 
gorgeous scarlet jacket with a golden sun embroidered 


54 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


on the back, a silver moon on the front, and stars of 
all sizes on the sleeves. A pair of Turkish slippers 
adorned her feet, and necklaces of amber, coral, and 
filigree hung about her neck, while one hand held a 
smelling-bottle, and the other the spicy box of oriental 
sweetmeats. 

“ I feel like a girl in the 1 Arabian Nights,’ and ex- 
pect to find a magic carpet or a wonderful talisman 
somewhere. Only I don’t see how I ever can thank 
you for all these lovely things,” she said, stopping het 
dance, as if suddenly oppressed with gratitude. 

" I ’ll tell you how, — by leaving off the black clothes, 
that never should have been kept so long on such a 
child, and wearing the gay ones I ’ve brought. It will 
do your spirits good, and cheer up this sober old 
house. Won’t it, auntie?” 

“I think you are right, Alec, and it is fortunate 
that we have not begun on her spring clothes yet, 
for Myra thought she ought not to wear any thing 
brighter than violet, and she is too pale for that.” 

“ You just let me direct Miss Hemming how to 
make some of these things. You will be surprised to 
see how much I know about piping hems and gathering 
arm-holes and shirring biases,” began Dr. Alec, pat- 
ting a pile of muslin, cloth, and silk with a knowing 
air. 

Aunt Peace and Rose laughed so that he could not 
display his knowledge any farther till they stopped, 
when he said good-naturedly, — 

“ That will go a great way toward filling out the 
belt, so laugh away, Morgiana, and I ’ll go back to my 
work^ or I never shall be done.” 


A BELT AND A BOX. 


55 


I could n t help it, 4 shirred biases ’ were so very 
funny ! ” Rose said, as she turned to her box after the 
splendid laugh. “ But really, auntie,” she added so- 
beil y, u f feel as if I ought not to have so many nice 
things. I suppose it would n’t do to give Phebe some 
of them? Uncle might not like it.” 

“ He would not mind ; but they are not suitable for 
Phebe. Some of the dresses you are done with would 
be more useful, if they can be made over to fit her,” 
answered Aunt Peace in the prudent, moderate tone 
which is so trying to our feelings when we indulge in 
little fits of charitable enthusiasm. 

“ 1 ’ d rather give her new ones, for I think she is a 
little bit proud and might not like old things. If she 
was my sister it would do, because sisters don’t mind, 
but she isn’t, and that makes it bad, you see. I know 
how I can manage beautifully ; I ’ll adopt her ! ” and 
Rose looked quite radiant with this new idea. 

“ I ’m afraid you could not do it legally till you are 
older, but you might see if she likes the plan, and at 
any rate you can be very kind to her, for in one sense 
we are all sisters, and should help one another.” 

The sweet old face looked at her so kindly that 
Rose was fired with a desire to settle the matter at 
once, and rushed away to the kitchen just as she was. 
Phebe was there, polishing up the antique andirons so 
busily that she started when a voice cried out : “ Smell 
that, taste this, and look at me ! ” 

Phebe sniffed attar of rose, crunched the “ Lump of 
Delight ” tucked into her mouth, and stared with all 
her eyes at little Morgiana prancing about the room 
like a brilliant paroquet. 


56 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


« My stars, ain’t you splendid ! ” was all she could 
say, holding up two dusty hands. 



Rose and Phebe. 


“ I ’ve got heaps of lovely things upstairs, and I ’ll 
show them all to you, and 1 ’d go halves, only auntie 
thinks they wouldn’t be useful, so I shall give you 


A BELT AND A BOX. 


57 


something else; and you won’t mind, will you? be- 
cause I want to adopt you as Arabella was in the 
story. Won’t that be nice?” 

u Why, Miss Rose, have you lost your wits ? ” 

No wonder Phebe asked, for Rose talked very fast, 
and looked so odd in her new costume, and was so 
eager she could not stop to explain. Seeing Phebe’s 
bewilderment, she quieted down and said, with a 
pretty air of earnestness, — 

“ It is n’t fair that I should have so much and you 
so little, and I want to be as good to you as if 
you were my sister, for Aunt Peace says we are all 
sisters really. I thought if I adopted you as much 
as I can now, it would be nicer. Will you let me, 
please?” 

To Rose’s great surprise, Phebe sat down on the 
floor and hid her face in her apron for a minute with- 
out answering a word. 

“Oh dear, now she’s offended, and I don’t know 
what to do,” thought Rose, much discouraged by this 
reception of her offer. 

“ Please, forgive me ; I did n’t mean to hurt your 
feelings, and hope you won’t think — ” she faltered 
presently, feeling that she must undo the mischief 
if possible. 

But Phebe gave her another surprise, by dropping 
the apron and showing a face all smiles, in spite of 
tears in the eyes, as she put both arms round Rose 
and said, with a laugh and sob, — 

“ I think you are the dearest girl in the world, and 
I ’ll let you do any thing you like with me.” 

“ Then you do like the plan ? You did n’t cry be- 


58 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


cause I seemed to be kind of patronizing? I trulj 
did n’t mean to be,” cried Rose, delighted. 

“ I guess I do like it ! and cried because no one was 
ever so good to me before, and I couldn’t help it. 
As for patronizing, you may walk on me if you want 
to, and I won’t mind,” said Phebe, in a burst of grati- 
tude, for the words, “ we are all sisters,” went straight 
to her lonely heart and nestled there. 

“Well, now, we can play I’m a good sprite out of 
the box, or, what is better, a fairy godmother come 
down the chimney, and you are Cinderella, and must 
say what you want,” said Rose, trying to put the 
question delicately. 

Phebe understood that, for she had a good deal of 
natural refinement, though she did come from the 
poor-house. 

“I don’t feel as if I wanted any thing now, Miss 
Rose, but to find some way of thanking you for all 
you’ve done,” she said, rubbing off a tear that went 
rolling down the bridge of her nose in the most un- 
romantic way. 

“ Why, I have n’t done any thing but given you 
a bit of candy ! Here, have some more, and eat ’em 
while you work, and think what I can do. I must 
go and clear up, so good-by, and don’t forget I’ve 
adopted you.” 

“You’ve given me sweeter things than candy, and 
I’m not likely to forget it.” And carefully wiping 
off the brick-dust, Phebe pressed the little hand Rose 
offered warmly in both her hard ones, while the black 
eyes followed the departing visitor with a grateful 
look that made them very soft and bright. 


CHAPTER VI. 


UNCLE ALEC'S ROOM . 



OON after dinner, and before she had got ac- 


quainted with half her new possessions, Dr. Alec 
proposed a drive, to carry round the first instalment 
of gifts to the aunts and cousins. Rose was quite 
ready to go, being anxious to try a certain soft bur- 
nous from the box, which not only possessed a most 
engaging little hood, but had funny tassels bobbing 
in all directions. 

The big carriage w^as full of parcels, and even Ben’s 
seat was loaded with Indian war-clubs, a Chinese kite 
of immense size, and a pair of polished ox-horns from 
Africa. Uncle Alec, very blue as to his clothes, and 
very brown as to his face, sat bolt upright, surveying 
well-known places with interest, while Rose, feeling 
unusually elegant and comfortable, leaned back folded 
in her soft mantle, and played she was an Eastern 
princess making a royal progress among her subjects. 

At three of the places their calls were brief, for 
Aunt Myra’s catarrh was unusually bad; Aunt Clara 
had a room full of company ; and Aunt Jane showed 
such a tendency to discuss the population, productions, 
and politics of Europe, Asia, and Africa, that even 


CO 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


Dr. Alec was dismayed, and got away as soon as 
possible. 

“ Now we will have a good time! I do hope the 
boys will be at home,” said Rose, with a sigh of relief, 
as they wound yet higher up the hill to Aunt J essie’s. 

“I left this for the last call, so that we might find 
the lads just in from school. Yes, there is Jamie on 
the gate watching for us ; now you ’ll see the Clan 
gather; they are always swarming about together.” 

The instant Jamie saw the approaching guests he 
gave a shrill whistle, which was answered by echoes 
from meadow, house, and barn, as the cousins came 
running from all directions, shouting, “Hooray for 
Uncle Alec!” They went at the carriage like high- 
waymen, robbed it of every parcel, took the occupants 
prisoners, and marched them into the house with great 
exultation. 

“ Little Mum ! little Mum ! here they are with lots 
of goodies ! Come down and see the fun right away ! 
quick!” bawled Will and Geordie amidst a general 
ripping off of papers and a reckless cutting of strings 
that soon turned the tidy room into a chaos. 

Down came Aunt Jessie with her pretty cap half on, 
but such a beaming face below it that one rather 
thought the fly-away head-gear an improvement than 
otherwise. She had hardly time to greet Rose and 
the doctor before the boys were about her, each 
clamoring for her to see his gift and rejoice over it 
with him, for “little Mum” went halves in every 
thing. The great horns skirmished about her as if to 
toss her to the ceiling ; the war-clubs hurtled over her 
head as if to annihilate her ; an amazing medley from 


UNCLE ALEC'S ROOM. 


61 


the four quarters of the globe filled her lap, and seven 
excited boys all talked to her at once. 

But she liked it; oh dear, yes! and sat smiling, 
admiring, and explaining, quite untroubled by the 
din, which made Rose cover up her ears and Dr. Alec 
threaten instant flight if the riot was not quelled. 
That threat produced a lull, and while the uncle re- 
ceived thanks in one corner, the aunt had some little 
confidences made to her in the other. 

“Well, dear, and how are things going with you 
now? Better, I hope, than they were a week ago.” 
14 “Aunt Jessie, I think I’m going to be very happy, 
now uncle has come. He does the queerest things, 
but he is so good to me I can’t help loving him;” 
and, nestling closer to little Mum, Rose told all that 
had happened, ending with a rapturous account of 
the splendid box. 

“ I am very glad, dear. But, Rose, I must warn you 
of one thing ; don’t let uncle spoil you.” 

“ But I like to be spoilt, auntie.” 

“ I don’t doubt it ; but if you turn out badly when 
the year is over he will be blamed, and his experiment 
prove a failure. That would be a pity, wouldn’t it? 
when he wants to do so much for you, and can do it 
if his kind heart does not get in the way of his good 
judgment.” 

“I never thought of that, and I’ll try not to be 
spoilt. But how can I help it?” asked Rose anx- 
iously. 

“ By not complaining of the wholesome things he 
wants you to do; by giving him cheerful obedience 
as well as love; and even making some small sac- 
rifices for his sake.” 


62 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ I will, I truly will ! and when I get in a worry 
about things may I come to you? Uncle told me 
to, and I feel as if I should n’t be afraid.” 

“You may, darling; this is the place where little 
troubles are best cured, and this is what mothers are 
for, I fancy;” and Aunt Jessie drew the curly head 
to her shoulder with a tender look that proved how 
well she knew what medicine the child most needed. 

It was so sweet and comfortable that Rose sat still 
enjoying it till a little voice said, — 

“ Mamma, don’t you think Pokey would like some 
of my shells? Rose gave Phebe some of her nice 
things, and it was very good of her. Can I?” 

“Who is Pokey?” asked Rose, popping up her 
head, attracted by the odd name. 

“ My dolly ; do you want to see her ? ” asked Jamie, 
who had been much impressed by the tale of adoption 
he had overheard. 

“ Yes ; I ’m fond of dollies, only don’t tell the boys, 
or they will laugh at me.” 

“ They don’t laugh at me, and they play with my 
dolly a gieat deal ; but she likes me best ; ” and Jamie 
ran away to produce his pet. 

“ I brought my old doll, but I keep her hidden be- 
cause I am too big to play with her, and yet I can’t 
bear to throw her away, I’m so fond of her,” said 
Rose, continuing her confidences in a whisper. 

“You can come and play with Jamie’s whenever 
you like, for we believe in dollies up here,” began 
Aunt Jessie, smiling to herself as if something amused 
her. 

Just then Jamie came back, and Rose understood 


UNCLE ALEC'S ROOM \ 


63 


the smile, for his dolly proved to be a pretty four- 
year-old little girl, who trotted in as fast as her fat 
legs would carry her, and, making straight for the 
shells, scrambled up an armful, saying, with a laugh 
that showed her little white teeth, — 

“ All for Dinnny and me, for Dimmy and me ! ” 



JAMIE AND HIS DOLLY. 


“ That ’s my dolly ; is n’t she a nice one ? ” asked 
Jamie, proudly surveying his pet with his hands behind 
him and his short legs rather far apart, — a manly at- 
titude copied from his brothers. 

“ She is a dear dolly. But why call her Pokey ? ” 
asked Rose, charmed with the new plaything. 

“ She is such an inquisitive little body she is always 
poking that mite of a nose into every thing ; and as 


64 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


Paul Pry did not suit, the boys fell to calling her 
Pokey. Not a pretty name, but very expressive.” 

It certainly was, for, having examined the shells, 
the busy tot laid hold of every thing she could find, and 
continued her researches till Archie caught her suck- 
ing his carved ivory chessmen to see if they were not 
barley-sugar. Rice-paper pictures were also discov- 
ered crumpled up in her tiny pocket, and she nearly 
smashed Will’s ostrich egg by trying to sit upon it. 

“ Here, Jim, take her away ; she ’s worse than the 
puppies, and we can’t have her round,” commanded 
the elder brother, picking her up and handing her over 
to the little fellow, who received her with open arms 
and the warning remark, — 

“ You ’d better mind what you do, for I ’m going to 
’dopt Pokey like Rose did Phebe, and then you’ll 
have to be very good to her, you big fellows.” 

“’Dopt away, baby, and I’ll give you a cage to 
keep her in, or you won’t have her long, for she is get- 
ting worse than a monkey ; ” and Archie went back to 
his mates, while Aunt Jessie, foreseeing a crisis, pro- 
posed that Jamie should take his dolly home, as she 
was borrowed, and it was time her visit ended. 

“My dolly is better than yours, isn’t she? ’cause 
she can walk and talk and sing and dance, and yours 
can’t do any thing, can she ? ” asked Jamie with pride, 
as he regarded his Pokey, who just then had been 
moved to execute a funny little jig and warble the 
well-known couplet, — 

“ ' Puss-tat, puss-tat, where you been ? ’ 

* I been Lunnin, to saw a Tween.’ ” 

After which superb display she retired, escorted by 


UNCLE ALECS ROOM. 


65 


Jamie, both making a fearful din blowing on conch 
shells. 

“We must tear ourselves away, Rose, because I 
want to get you home before sunset. Will you come 
for a drive, Jessie ?” said Dr. Alec, as the music died 
away in the distance. 

“ No, thank you ; But I see the boys want a scam- 
per, so, if you don’t mind, they may escort you home, 
but not go in. That is only allowed on holidays.” 

The words were hardly out of Aunt Jessie’s mouth 
when Archie said, in a tone of command, — 

“Pass the word, lads. Boot and saddle, and be 
quick about it.” 

“ All right ! ” And in a moment not a vestige of 
boy remained but the litter on the floor. 

The cavalcade went down the hill at a pace that 
made Rose cling to her uncle’s arm, for the fat old 
horses got excited by the antics of the ponies careering 
all about them, and went as fast as they could pelt, 
with the gay dog-cart rattling in front, for Archie and 
Charlie scorned shelties since this magnificent equi- 
page had been set up. Ben enjoyed the fun, and the 
lads cut up capers till Rose declared that “ circus ” 
was the proper name for them after all. 

When they reached the house they dismounted, and 
stood, three on each side the steps, in martial attitudes, 
while her ladyship was handed out with great elegance 
by Uncle Alec. Then the clan saluted, mounted at 
word of command, and with a wild whoop tore down 
the avenue in what they considered the true Arab 
style. 

“That was splendid, now it is safely ended,” said 


66 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


Rose, skipping up the steps with her head over her 
shoulder to watch the dear tassels bob about. 

“ I shall get you a pony as soon as you are a little 
stronger,” said Dr. Alec, watching her with a smile. 

“ Oh, I could n’t ride one of those horrid, frisky 
little beasts ! They roll their eyes and bounce about 
so, I should die of fright,” cried Rose, clasping her 
hands tragically. 

“ Are you a coward ? ” 

“ About horses I am.” 

“Never mind, then; come and see my new room;” 
and he led the way upstairs without another word. 

As Rose followed she remembered her promise to 
Aunt Jessie, and was sorry she had objected so decid- 
edly. She was a great deal more sorry five minutes 
later, and well she might be. 

“ Now take a good look, and tell me what you think 
of it,” said Dr. Alec, opening the door and letting her 
enter before him, while Phebe was seen whisking down 
the backstairs with a dust-pan. 

Rose walked to the middle of the room, stood still, 
and gazed about her with eyes that brightened as they 
looked, for all was changed. 

This chamber had been built out over the library to 
suit some fancy, and had been unused for years, except 
at Christmas times, when the old house overflowed. 
It had three windows, — one to the east, that over- 
looked the bay ; one to the south, where the horse- 
chestnuts waved their green fans ; and one to the west, 
toward the hills and the evening sky. A ruddy sunset 
burned there now, filling the room with an enchanted 
glow ; the soft murmur of the sea was heard, and 


UNCLE ALEC'S ROOM. 


67 


a robin chirped “ Good night ! ” among the budding 
trees. 

Rose saw and heard these things first, and felt their 
beauty with a child’s quick instinct ; then her eye took 
in the altered aspect of the room, once so shrouded, 
still and solitary, now so full of light and warmth and 
simple luxury. 

India matting covered the floor, with a gay rug here 
and there ; the antique andirons shone on the wide 
hearth, where a cheery blaze dispelled the dampness 
of the long-closed room. Bamboo lounges and chairs 
stood about, and quaint little tables in cosey corners ; 
one bearing a pretty basket, one a desk, and on a third 
lay several familiar-looking books. In a recess stood 
a narrow white bed, with a lovely Madonna hanging 
over it. The Japanese screen half folded back showed 
a delicate toilet-service of blue and white set forth on 
a marble slab, and near by was the great bath-pan, 
with Turkish towels and a sponge as big as Rose’s 
head. 

“Uncle must love cold water like a duck,” she 
thought, with a shiver. 

Then her eye went on to the tall cabinet, where 
a half-open door revealed a tempting array of the 
drawers, shelves, and “ cubby holes,” which so delight 
the hearts of children. ^ 

“What a grand place for my new things,” she 
thought, wondering what her uncle kept in that cedar 
retreat. 

“ Oh me, what a sweet toilet-table ! ” was her next 
mental exclamation, as she approached this inviting 
spot. 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


A round old-fashioned mirror hung over it, with a 
gilt eagle a-top, holding in his beak the knot of blue 
ribbon that tied up a curtain of muslin falling on either 
side of the table, where appeared little ivory-handled 
brushes, two slender' silver candlesticks, a porcelain 
match-box, several pretty trays for small matters, and, 
most imposing of all, a plump blue silk cushion, coquet- 
tishly trimmed with lace, and pink rose-buds at the 
corners. 

That cushion rather astonished Rose ; in fact, the 
whole table did, and she was just thinking, with a sly 
smile, — 

“ Uncle is a dandy, but I never should have guessed 
it,” when he opened the door of a large closet, saying, 
with a careless wave of the hand, — 

“ Men like plenty of room for their rattle-traps ; 
don’t you think that ought to satisfy me?” 

Rose peeped in and gave a start, though all she saw 
was what one usually finds in closets, — clothes and 
boots, boxes and bags. Ah ! but you see these clothes 
were small black and white frocks ; the row of little 
boots that stood below had never been on Dr. Alec’s 
feet ; the green bandbox had a gray veil straying out 
of it, and, — yes ! the bag hanging on the door was 
certainly her own piece-bag, with a hole in one corner. 
She gave a quick look round the room and understood 
now why it had seemed too dainty for a man, why her 
Testament and Prayer-book were on the table by the 
bed, and what those rose-buds meant on the blue 
cushion. It came upon her in one delicious burst that 
this little paradise was all for her, and, not knowing 
how else to express her gratitude, she caught Dr. Alec 
round the neck, saying impetuously, — 


UNCLE ALECS ROOM. 


69 


*0 uncle, you are too good to me! I’ll do any 
tL ng you ask me ; ride wild horses and take freezing 
baths and eat bad-tasting messes, and let my clothes 
hang on me, to show how much I thank you for this 
dear, sweet, lovely room ! ” 

“ You like it, then ? But why do you think it is 
yours, my lass ? ” asked Dr. Alec, as he sat down look- 
ing well pleased, and drew his excited little niece to 
his knee. 

“ I don’t think, I know it is for me ; I see it in your 
face, and I feel as if I did n’t half deserve it. Aunt 
Jessie said you would spoil me, and I must not let you. 
I ’m afraid this looks like it, and perhaps, — oh me ! — 
perhaps I ought not to have this beautiful room after 
all ! ” and Rose tried to look as if she could be heroic 
enough to give it up if it was best. 

“I owe Mrs. Jessie one for that,” said Dr. Alec, 
trying to frown, though in his secret soul he felt that 
she was quite right. Then he smiled that cordial 
smile, which was like sunshine on his brown face, as 
he said, — 

“ This is part of the cure, Rose, and I put you here 
that you might take my three great remedies in the 
best and easiest way. Plenty of sun, fresh air, and 
cold water ; also cheerful surroundings and some work ; 
for Phebe is to show you how to take care of this 
room, and be your little maid as well as friend and 
teacher. Does that sound hard and disagreeable to 
you, dear?” 

“No, sir; very, very pleasant, and I’ll do my best 
to be a good patient. But I really don’t think any 
one could be sick in this delightful room,” she said, 


70 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


with a long sigh of happiness as her eye went from one 
pleasant object to another. 

“ Then you like my sort of medicine better than 
Aunt Myra’s, and don’t want to throw it out of the 
window, hey?” 


CHAPTER VII. 


A TRIP TO CHINA. 

OME, little girl, I ’ve got another dose for you. 



I fancy you won’t take it as well as you did 
the last, but you will like it better after a while,” said 
Dr. Alec, about a week after the grand surprise. 

Rose was sitting in her pretty room, where she 
would gladly have spent all her time if it had been 
allowed ; but she looked up with a smile, for she had 
ceased to fear her uncle’s remedies, and was always 
ready to try a new one. The last had been a set 
of light gardening tools, with which she had helped 
him put the flower-beds in order, learning all sorts 
of new and pleasant things about the plants as she 
worked, for, though she had studied botany at school, 
it seemed very dry stuff compared with Uncle Alec’s 
lively lesson. 

“ What is it now ? ” she asked, shutting her work- 
box without a murmur. 

“ Salt-water.” 

“ How must I take it ? ” 

“Put on the new suit Miss Hemming sent home 
yesterday, and come down to the beach; then I’ll 
show you.” 


72 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“Yes, sir,” answered Rose obediently, adding to 
herself, with a shiver, as he went off : “ It is too early 
for bathing, so I know it is something to do with a 
dreadful boat.” 

Putting on the new suit of blue flannel, prettily 
trimmed with white, and the little sailor-hat with 
long streamers, diverted her mind from the approach- 
ing trial, till a shrill whistle reminded her that her 
uncle was waiting. Away she ran through the gar- 
den, down the sandy path, out upon the strip of beach 
that belonged to the house, and here she found Dr. 
Alec busy with a slender red and white boat that lay 
rocking on the rising tide. 

“ That is a dear little boat ; and ‘ Bonnie Belle ’ is 
a pretty name,” she said, trying not to show how 
nervous she felt. 

“ It is for you ; so sit in the stern and learn to 
steer, till you are ready to learn to row.” 

“Do all boats wiggle about in that way?” she 
asked, lingering as if to tie her hat more firmly. 

“Oh, yes, pitch about like nut-shells when the sea 
is a bit rough,” answered her sailor uncle, never 
guessing her secret woe. 

“Is it rough to-day?” 

“Not very ; it looks a trifle squally to the eastward, 
but we are all right till the wind changes. Come.” 

“ Can you swim, uncle ? ” asked Rose, clutching at 
his arm as he took her hand. 

“ Like a fish. Now then.” 

“Oh, please hold me very tight till I get there! 
Why do you have the stern so far away?” and, 
stifling several squeaks of alarm in her passage, Rose 


A TRIP TO CHINA 


73 




74 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


crept to the distant seat, and sat there holding on 
with both hands and looking as if she expected every 
wave to bring a sudden shipwreck. 

Uncle Alec took no notice of her fear, but patiently 
instructed her in the art of steering, till she was so 
absorbed in remembering which was starboard and 
which larboard, that she forgot to say “ Ow ! ” every 
time a big wave slapped against the boat. 

“ Now where shall we go ? ” she asked, as the wind 
blew freshly in her face, and a few long, swift strokes 
sent them half across the little bay. 

“ Suppose we go to China?” 

“ Is n’t that rather a long voyage ? ” 

“ Not as I go. Steer round the Point into the har- 
bor, and I ’ll give you a glimpse of China in twenty 
minutes or so.” 

“ I should like that ! ” and Rose sat wondering what 
he meant, while she enjoyed the new sights all about 
her. 

Behind them the green Aunt-hill sloped gently up- 
ward to the grove at the top, and all along the sea- 
ward side stood familiar houses, stately, cosey, or 
picturesque. As they rounded the Point, the great 
bay opened before them full of shipping, and the city 
lay beyond, its spires rising above the tall masts with 
their gay streamers. 

“ Are we going there ? ” she asked, for she had 
never seen this aspect of the rich and busy old city 
before. 

“ Yes. Uncle Mac lias a ship just in from Hong 
Kong, and I thought you would like to go and see it.” 

“ Oh, I should ! I love dearly to go poking about 


A TRIP TO CHINA . 


75 


in the warehouse with Uncle Mac ; every thing is 
so curious and new to me ; and I ’m specially inter- 
ested in China because you have been there.” 

“ I ’ll show you two genuine Chinamen who have 
just arrived. You will like to welcome Whang Lo 
and Fun See, I ’m sure.” 

“ Don’t ask me to speak to them, uncle ; I shall be 
sure to laugh at the odd names and the pig-tails and 
the slanting eyes. Please let me just trot round after 
you ; I like that best.” 

“Very well; now steer toward the wharf where 
the big ship with the queer flag is. That’s the 
‘Rajah,’ and we will go aboard if we can.” 

In among the ships they went, by the wharves 
where the water was green and still, and queer bar- 
nacles grew on the slippery piles. Odd smells saluted 
her nose, and odd sights met her eyes, but Rose liked 
it all, and played she was really landing in Hong Kong 
when they glided up to the steps in the shadow of the 
tall “Rajah.” Boxes and bales were rising out of the 
hold and being carried into the warehouse by stout 
porters, who tugged and bawled and clattered about 
with small trucks, or worked cranes with iron claws 
that came down and clutched heavy weights, whisking 
them aloft to where wide doors like mouths swallowed 
them up. 

Dr. Alec took her aboard the ship, and she had the 
satisfaction of poking her inquisitive little nose into 
every available corner, at the risk of being crushed, 
lost, or drowned. 

“ Well, child, how would you like to take a voyage 
round the world with me in a jolly old craft like 


76 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


this ? ” asked her uncle, as they rested a minute in 
the captain’s cabin. 

“ I should like to see the world, but not in such 
a small, untidy, smelly place as this. We would go 
in a yacht all clean and comfortable ; Charlie says 
that is the proper way,” answered Rose, surveying 
the close quarters with little favor. 

“ You are not a true Campbell if you don’t like the 
smell of tar and salt-water, nor Charlie either, with 
his luxurious yacht. Row come ashore and chin-chin 
with the Celestials.” 

After a delightful progress through the great ware- 
house, peeping and picking as they went, they found 
Uncle Mac and the yellow gentlemen in his private 
room, where samples, gifts, curiosities, and newly 
arrived treasures of all sorts were piled up in pleasing 
pro-fusion and con-fusion. 

As soon as possible Rose retired to a corner, with 
a porcelain god on one side, a green dragon on the 
other, and, what was still more embarrassing, Fun 
See sat on a tea-chest in front, and stared at her with 
his beady black eyes till she did not know where to 
look. 

Mr. Whang Lo was an elderly gentleman in Ameri- 
can costume, with his pig-tail neatly wound round his 
head. He spoke English, and was talking busily with 
Uncle Mac in the most commonplace way, — so Rose 
considered him a failure. But Fun See was delight- 
fully Chinese from his junk-like shoes to the button 
on his pagoda hat ; for he had got himself up in style, 
and was a mass of silk jackets and slouchy trousers. 
He was short and fat, and waddled comically; his 


A TRIP TO CHINA . 


77 


eyes were very “slanting,” as Rose said; his queue 
was long, so were his nails ; his yellow face was plump 
and shiny, and he was altogether a highly satisfactory 
Chinaman. 

Uncle Alec told her that Fun See had come out to 
be educated, and could only speak a little pigeon 
English ; so she must be kind to the poor fellow, for 
he was only a lad, though he looked nearly as old as 
Mr. Whang Lo. Rose said she would be kind; but 
had not the least idea how to entertain the queer 
guest, who looked as if he had walked out of one 
of the rice-paper landscapes on the wall, and sat 
nodding at her so like a toy Mandarin that she could 
hardly keep sober. 

In the midst of her polite perplexity, Uncle Mac 
saw the two young people gazing wistfully at one 
another, and seemed to enjoy the joke of this making 
acquaintance under difficulties. Taking a box from 
his table, he gave it to Fun See with an order that 
seemed to please him very much. 

Descending from his perch, he fell to unpacking it 
with great neatness and despatch, while Rose watched 
him, wondering what was going to happen. Pres- 
ently, out from the wrappings came a teapot, which 
caused her to clasp her hands wuth delight, for it was 
made in the likeness of a plump little Chinaman. His 
hat was the cover, his queue the handle, and bis pipe 
the nose. It stood upon feet in shoes turned up at 
the toes, and the smile on the fat, sleepy face was so 
like that on Fun’s when he displayed the teapot, that 
Rose could n’t help laughing, which pleased him much. 

Two pretty cups with covers, and a. fine scarlet tray, 



Fun signified in 


pantomime that they were 


HERS. — Parvp 


0 . 


A TRIP TO CHINA . 


79 


completed the set, and made one long to have a “ dish 
of tea,” even in Chinese style, without cream or sugar. 

When he had arranged them on a little table before 
her, Fun signified in pantomime that they were hers, 
from her uncle. She returned her thanks in the same 
way, whereupon he returned to his tea-chest, and, 
having no other means of communication, they sat 
smiling and nodding at one another in an absurd sort 
of way till a new idea seemed to strike Fun. Tum- 
bling off his seat, he waddled away as fast as his petti- 
coats permitted, leaving Rose hoping that he had not 
gone to get a roasted rat, a stewed puppy, or any other 
foreign mess which civility would oblige her to eat. 

While she waited for her funny new friend, she 
improved her mind in a way that would have charmed 
Aunt Jane. The gentlemen were talking over all 
sorts of things, and she listened attentively, storing 
up much of what she heard, for she had an excellent 
memory, and longed to distinguish herself by being 
able to produce some useful information when re- 
proached with her ignorance. 

She was just trying to impress upon her mind that 
Amoy was two hundred and eighty miles from Hong 
Kong, when Fun came scuffling back, bearing what 
she thought was a small sword, till he unfurled an 
immense fan, and presented it with a string of Chi- 
nese compliments, the meaning of which would have 
amused her even more than the sound if she could 
have understood it. 

She had never seen such an astonishing fan, and at 
once became absorbed in examining it. Of course, 
there was no perspective whatever, which only gave 


80 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


it a peculiar charm to Rose, for in one place a lovely 
lady, with blue knitting-needles in her hair, sat di- 
rectly upon the spire of a stately pagoda. In another 
charming view a brook appeared to flow in at the 
front door of a stout gentleman’s house, and out at 
his chimney. In a third a zigzag wall went up into 
the sky like a flash of lightning, and a bird with two 
tails was apparently brooding over a fisherman whose 
boat was just going aground upon the moon. 

It was altogether a fascinating thing, and she would 
have sat wafting it to and fro all the afternoon, to 
Fun’s great satisfaction, if Dr. Alec’s attention had 
not suddenly been called to her by a breeze from the 
big fan that blew his hair into his eyes, and reminded 
him that they must go. So the pretty china was re- 
packed, Rose furled her fan, and with several parcels 
of choice teas for the old ladies stowed away in Dr. 
Alec’s pockets, they took their leave, after Fun had 
saluted them with the “ three bendings and the nine 
knockings,” as they salute the Emperor, or “ Son of 
Heaven,” at home. 

“ I feel as if I had really been to China, and I ’m 
sure I look so,” said Rose, as they glided out of the 
shadow of the “Rajah.” 

She certainly did, for Mr. Whang Lo had given 
her a Chinese umbrella; Uncle Alec had got some 
lanterns to light up her balcony ; the great fan lay in 
her lap, and the tea-set reposed at her feet. 

“ This is not a bad way to study geography, is it ? ” 
asked her uncle, who had observed her attention to 
the talk. 

“ It is a very pleasant way, and I really think I 


A TRIP TO CHINA. 


81 


have learned more about China to-day than in all the 
lessons I had at school, though I used to rattle off the 
answers as fast as I could go. No one explained any 
thing to us, so all I remember is that tea and silk come 
from there, and the women have little bits of feet. I 
saw Fun looking at mine, and he must have thought 
them perfectly immense,” answered Rose, surveying 
her stout boots with sudden contempt. 

“We will have out the maps and the globe, and I ’ll 
show you some of my journeys, telling stories as we 
go. That will be next best to doing it actually.” 

“ You are so fond of travelling, I should think it 
would be very dull for you here, uncle. Do you 
know, Aunt Plenty says she is sure you will be off 
in a year or two.” 

“ Very likely.” 

“ Oh me ! what shall I do then ? ” sighed Rose, in 
a tone of despair that made Uncle Alec’s face brighten 
with a look of genuine pleasure as he said signifi- 
cantly, — 

“ Next time I go I shall take my little anchor with 
me. How will that suit ? ” 

“ Really, uncle ? ” 

“ Really, niece.” 

Rose gave a little bounce of rapture which caused 
the boat to “ wiggle ” in a way that speedily quieted 
her down. But she sat beaming joyfully and trying 
to think which of some hundred questions she would 
ask first, when Dr. Alec said, pointing to a boat that 
w^as coming up behind them in great style, — 

“ How well those fellows row ! Look at them, and 
take notes for your own use by and by.” 


4 * 


p 


82 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


The “ Stormy Petrel ” was manned by half a dozen 
j aunty-looking sailors, who made a fine display of blue 
shirts and shiny hats, with stars and anchors in every 
direction. 

“ How beautifully they go, and they are only boys. 
Why, I do believe they are our boys ! Yes, I see 
Charlie laughing over his shoulder. Row, uncle, row ! 
oh, please do, and not let them catch up with us ! ” 
cried Rose, in such a state of excitement that the new 
umbrella nearly went overboard. 

“ All right, here we go ! ” and away they did go 
with a long steady sweep of the oars that carried the 
“ Bonnie Belle ” through the water with a rush. 

The lads pulled their prettiest, but Dr. Alec would 
have reached the Point first, if Rose, in her flurry, had 
not retarded him by jerking the rudder ropes in a 
most unseamanlike way, and just as she got right 
again her hat blew off. That put an end to the race, 
and while they were still fishing for the hat the other 
boat came alongside, with all the oars in the air, and 
the jolly young tars ready for a frolic. 

“ Did you catch a crab, uncle ? ” 

“ No, a blue-fish,” he answered, as the dripping hat 
was landed on a seat to dry. 

“What have you been doing?” 

“ Seeing Fun.” 

“ Good for you, Rose ! I know what you mean. 
We are going to have him up to show us how to fly 
the big kite, for we can’t get the hang of it. Is n’t 
he great fun, though?” 

“No, little Fun.” 

“ Come, stop joking, and show us what you ’ve got.” 


A TRIP TO CHINA. 


83 


“You’d better hoist that fan for a sail.” 

“ Lend Dandy your umbrella ; he hates to burn his 
pretty nose.” 

“ I say, uncle, are you going to have a Feast of 
Lanterns ? ” 

“No, I ’m going to have a feast of bread and butter, 
for it ’s tea-time. If that black cloud does n’t lie, we 
shall have a gust before long, so you had better get 
home as soon as you can, or your mother will be 
anxious, Archie.” 

“ Ay, ay, skipper. Good-night, Rose ; come out 
often, and we ’ll teach you all there is to know about 
rowing,” was Charlie’s modest invitation. 

Then the boats parted company, and across the 
water from the “Petrel’s” crew came a verse from 
one of the Nonsense Songs in which the boys de- 
lighted. 

“ Oh, Timballoo ! how happy we are, 

We live in a sieve and a crockery jar ! 

And all night long, in the starlight pale, 

We sail away, with a pea-green sail, 

And whistle and warble a moony song 
To the echoing sound of a coppery gong. 

Far and few, far and few 
Are the lands where the Jumblies live ; 

Their heads are green, and their hands are blue. 

And they went to sea in a sieve.” 


CHAPTER VIII. 


AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 

NCLE, could you lend me a ninepence? I’ll 



return it as soon as I get my pocket-money,” 
said Rose, coming into the library in a great hurry 
that evening. 

“ I think I could, and I won’t charge any interest 
for it, so you need not be in any hurry to repay me. 
Come back here and help me settle these books if you 
have nothing pleasanter to do,” answered Dr. Alec, 
handing out the money with that readiness which is 
so delightful when we ask small loans. 

“ I ’ll come in a minute ; I ’ve been longing to fix 
my books, but didn ’t dare to touch them, because you 
always shake your head when I read.” 

“ I shall shake my head when you write, if you 
don’t do it better than you did in making out this 
catalogue.” 

“ I know it ’s bad, but I was in a hurry when I did 
it, and I am in one now.” And a;way went Rose, glad 
to escape a lecture. 

But she got it when she came back, for Uncle Alec 
was still knitting his brows over the list of books, and 
sternly demanded, pointing to a tipsy-looking title 
staggering down the page, — 


AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 


85 


“ Is that meant for 1 Pulverized Bones,’ ma’am ? ” 

“ No, sir ; it ’s 4 Paradise Lost.’ ” 

“Well, I’m glad to know it, for I began to think 
you were planning to study surgery or farming. And 
what is this, if you please ? 4 Babies’ Aprons ’ is all 1 
can make of it.” 

Rose looked hard at the scrawl, and presently an- 
nounced, with an air of superior wisdom, — 

“ Oh, that ’s 4 Bacon’s Essays.’ ” 

“ Miss Power did not teach any thing so old-fashioned 
as writing, I see. Now look at this little memorandum 
Aunt Plenty gave me, and see what a handsome plain 
hand that is. She went to a dame-school and learnt a 
few useful things well ; that is better than a smatter- 
ing of half a dozen so-called higher branches, I take 
the liberty of thinking.” 

“Well, I’m sure I was considered a bright girl at 
school, and learned every thing I was taught. Luly 
and me were the first in all our classes, and ’specially 
praised for our French and music and those sort of 
things,” said Rose, rather offended at Uncle Alec’s 
criticism. 

“ I dare say ; but if your French grammar was no 
better than your English, I think the praise was not 
deserved, my dear.” 

“ Why, uncle, we did study English grammar, and 
I could parse beautifully. Miss Power used to have 
us up to show off when people came. I don’t see but 
I talk as right as most girls.” 

“ I dare say you do, but we are all too careless about 
our English. Now, think a minute and tell me if 
these expressions are correct, — ‘ Luly and me,’ 4 those 
sort of things,’ and 4 as right as most girls.’ ” 


86 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


Rose pulled her pet curl and put up her lip, but had 
to own that she was wrong, and said meekly, after a 
pause which threatened to be sulky, — 

“ I suppose I should have said ‘ Luly and I,’ in that 
case, and ‘that sort of things’ and ‘rightly,’ though 
‘ correctly ’ would have been a better word, I guess.” 

“ Thank you ; and if you will kindly drop ‘ I guess; 

I shall like my little Yankee all the better. Now, see 
here, Rosy, I don’t pretend to set myself up for a 
\ model in any thing, and you may come down on my 
grammar, manners, or morals as often as you think 
I ’m wrong, and I ’ll thank you. I ’ve been knocking 
about the world for years, and have got careless, but I 
want my girl to be what I call well educated, even if 
she studies nothing but the ‘ three Rs ’ for a year to 
come. Let us be thorough, no matter how slowly 
we go.” 

He spoke so earnestly and looked so sorry to have 
ruffled her that Rose went and sat on the arm of his 
chair, saying, with a pretty air of penitence, — 

“ I ’m sorry I was cross, uncle, when I ought to thank 
you for taking so much interest in me. I guess, — no, 
I think you are right about being thorough, for I used 
to understand a great deal better when papa taught 
me a few lessons than when Miss Power hurried me 
through so many. I declare my head msed to be/ such 
a jumble of French and German, history and arithme- 
tic, grammar and music, I used to feel sometimes as if 
it would split. I’m sure I don’t wonder it ached.” 
And she held on to it as if the mere memory of the 
“jumble” made it swim. 

“ Yet that is considered an excellent school, I find, 


AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 


87 


and I dare say it would be if the benighted lady did 
not think it necessary to cram her pupils like Thanks- 
giving turkeys, instead of feeding them in a natural 
and wholesome way. It is the fault with most Amer- 
ican schools, and the poor little heads will go on aching 
till we learn better.” 

This was one of Dr. Alec’s hobbies, and Rose was 
afraid he was off for a gallop, but he reined himself in 
and gave her thoughts a new turn by saying suddenly, 
as he pulled out a fat pocket-book, — 

“ Uncle Mac has put all your affairs into my hands 
now, and here is your month’s pocket-money. You 
keep your own little accounts, I suppose ? ” 

“ Thank you. Yes, Uncle Mac gave me an account- 
book when I went to school, and I used to put down 
my expenses, but I could n’t make them go very well, 
for figures are the one thing I am not at all clever 
about,” said Rose, rummaging in her desk for a dilapi- 
dated little book, which she was ashamed to show 
when she found it. 

“Well, as figures are rather important things to 
most of us, and you may have a good many accounts 
to keep some day, would n’t it be wise to begin at once 
and learn to manage your pennies before the pounds 
come to perplex you ? ” 

“I thought you would do all that fussy part and 
take care of the pounds, as you call them. Need I 
worry about it ? I do hate sums so ! ” 

“ I shall take care of things till you are of age, but 
1 mean that you shall know how your property is man- 
aged and do as much of it as you can by and by ; 
then you won’t be dependent on the honesty of other 
people.” 


88 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ Gracious me ! as if I wouldn’t trust you with mil- 
lions of billions if I had them,” cried Rose, scandalized 
at the mere suggestion. 

« Ah, but I might be tempted ; guardians are some- 
times ; so you ’d better keep your eye on me, and in 
order to do that you must learn all about these affairs,” 
answered Dr. Alec, as he made an entry in his own 
very neat account-book. 

Rose peeped over his shoulder at it, and then turned 
to the arithmetical puzzle in her hand with a sigh of 
despair. 

“Uncle, when you add up your expenses do you 
ever find you have got more money than you had in 
the beginning ? ” 

“ No ; I usually find that I have a good deal less than 
I had in the beginning. Are you troubled in the pe- 
culiar way you mention ? ” 

“Yes; it is very curious, but I never can make 
things come out square.” 

“ Perhaps I can help you,” began Uncle Alec, in the 
most respectful tone. 

“ I think you had better, for if I have got to keep 
accounts I may as well begin in the right way. But 
please don’t laugh ! I know I ’m very stupid, and my 
book is a disgrace, but I never could get it straight.” 
And with great trepidation Rose gave up her funny 
little accounts. 

It really was good in Dr. Alec not to laugh, and 
Rose felt deeply grateful when he said, in a mildly 
suggestive tone, — 

“ The dollars and cents seem to be rather mixed ; 
perhaps if I just straightened them out a bit we should 
find things all right.” 


AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 


89 


“ Please do, and then show me on a fresh leaf how 
to make mine look nice and ship-shape as yours do.” 

As Rose stood by him watching the ease with which 
he quickly brought order out of chaos, she privately 
resolved to hunt up her old arithmetic and perfect 
herself in the first four rules, with a good tug at frac- 
tions, before she read any more fairy tales. 

“ Am I a rich girl, uncle ? ” she asked suddenly, as 
he was copying a column of figures. 

“ Rather a poor one, I should say, since you had to 
borrow a ninepence.” 

“ That was your fault, because you forgot my pocket- 
money. But, really, shall I be rich by and by ? ” 

“ I am afraid you will.” 

“ Why afraid, uncle ? ” 

“ Too much money is a bad thing.” 

“ But I can give it away, you know ; that is always 
the pleasantest part of having it, I think.” 

“ I ’m glad you feel so, for you can do much good 
with your fortune if you know how to use it well.” 

“You shall teach me, and when I am a woman we 
will set up a school where nothing but the three Rs 
shall be taught, and all the children live on oatmeal, 
and the girls have waists a yard round,” said Rose, 
with a sudden saucy smile dimpling her cheeks. 

“ You are an impertinent little baggage, to turn on 
me in that way right in the midst of my first attempt 
at teaching. Never mind, I ’ll have an extra bitter 
dose for you next time, miss.” 

“I knew you wanted to laugh, so I gave you a 
chance. Now I will be good, master, and do my 
lesson nicely.” 


90 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


So Dr. Alec had his laugh, and then Rose sat down 
and took a lesson in accounts which she never forgot. 

“Now come and read aloud to me; my eyes are 
tired, and it is pleasant to sit here by the fire while 
the rain pours outside and Aunt Jane lectures up- 
stairs,” said Uncle Alec, when last month’s accounts 
had been put in good order and a fresh page neatly 
begun. 

Rose liked to read aloud, and gladly gave him the 
chapter in “ Nicholas Nickleby ” where the Miss Ken- 
wigses take their French lesson. She did her very 
best, feeling that she was being criticised, and hoping 
that she might not be found wanting in this as in 
other things. 

“ Shall I go on, sir ? ” she asked very meekly when 
the chapter ended. 

“If you are not tired, dear. It is a pleasure to 
hear you, for you read remarkably well,” was the an- 
swer that filled her heart with pride and pleasure. 

“ Do you really think so, uncle ? I’m so glad ! papa 
taught me, and I read for hours to him, but I thought, 
perhaps, he liked it because he was fond of me.” 

“ So am I ; but you really do read unusually well, 
and I am very glad of it, for it is a rare accomplish- 
ment, and one I value highly. Come here in this cosey, 
low chair ; the light is better, and I can pull these curls 
if you go too fast. I see you are going to be a great 
comfort as well as a great credit to your old uncle, 
Rosy.” And Dr. Alec drew her close beside him with 
such a fatherly look and tone that she felt it would 
be very easy to love and obey him since he knew how 
to mix praise and blame so pleasantly together. 


AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 


91 


Another chapter was just finished, when the sound 
of a carriage warned them that Aunt Jane was about 
to depart. Before they could go to meet her, however, 
she appeared in the door-way looking like an unusually 
tall mummy in her waterproof, with her glasses shin- 
ing like cat’s eyes from the depths of the hood. 

“Just as I thought! petting that- child to death and 
letting her sit up late reading trash. I do hope you 
feel the weight of the responsibility you have taken 
upon yourself, Alec,” she said, with a certain grim 
sort of satisfaction at seeing things go wrong. 

“I think I have a very realizing sense of it, sister 
Jane,” answered Dr. Alec, with a comical shrug of the 
shoulders and a glance at Rose’s bright face. 

“ It is sad to see a great girl wasting these precious 
hours so. Now, my boys have studied all day, and 
Mac is still at his books, I ’ve no doubt, while you 
have not had a lesson since you came, I suspect.” 

“ I have had five to-day, ma’am,” was Rose’s very 
unexpected answer. 

“ I ’m glad to hear it ; and what were they, pray ? ” 
Rose looked very demure as she replied, — ■ 

“ Navigation, geography, grammar, arithmetic, and 
keeping my temper.” 

“ Queer lessons, I fancy ; and what have you learned 
from this remarkable mixture, I should like to know? ” 
A naughty sparkle came into Rose’s eyes as she 
answered, with a droll look at her uncle, — 

“I can’t tell you all, m&’am, but I have collected 
some useful information about China, which you may 
like, especially the teas. The best are Lapsing 
Souchong, Assam Pekoe, rare Ankoe, Flowery Pekoe, 


92 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


Howqua’s mixture, Scented Caper, Padral tea, black 
Congou, and green Twankey. Shanghai is on the 
Woosung River. Hong Kong means 4 Island of sweet 
waters.’ Singapore is 4 Lion’s Town.’ 4 Chops ’ are 
the boats they live in ; and they drink tea out of little 
saucers. Principal productions are porcelain, tea, 
cinnamon, shawls, tin, tamarinds, and opium. They 
have beautiful temples and queer gods ; and in Canton 
is the Dwelling of the Holy Pigs, fourteen of them, 
very big, and all blind.” 

The effect of this remarkable burst was immense, 
especially the fact last mentioned. It entirely took 
ths wind out of Aunt Jane’s sails ; it was so sudden, 
so varied and unexpected, that she had not a word to 
say. The glasses remained fixed full upon Rose for a 
moment, and then, with a hasty 44 Oh, indeed ! ” the 
excellent lady bundled into her carriage and drove 
away, somewhat bewildered and very much disturbed. 

She would have been more so if she had seen her 
reprehensible brother-in-law dancing a triumphal polka 
down the hall with Rose in honor of having silenced 
the enemy’s battery for once. 


CHAPTER IX 


PHEBE’S SECRET . 

W HY do you keep smiling to yourself, Phebe ? ” 
asked Rose, as they were working together 
one morning, for Dr. Alec considered house-work the 
best sort of gymnastics for girls ; so Rose took lessons 
of Phebe in sweeping, dusting, and bed-making. 

“ I was thinking about a nice little secret I know, 
and could n’t help smiling.” 

“ Shall I know it sometime ? ” 

“ Guess you will.” 

“ Shall I like it?” 

“ Oh, won’t you, though ! ” 

“ Will it happen soon ? ” 

“ Sometime this week.” 

“ I know what it is ! The boys are going to have 
fire-works on the Fourth, and have got some surprise 
for me. Have n’t they ? ” 

“ That’s telling.” 

“Well, I can wait; only tell me one thing, — is 
uncle in it ? ” 

“ Of course he is ; there ’s never any fun without 
him.” 

“ Then it is all right, and sure to be nice.” 


94 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


Rose went out on the balcony to shake the rugs, 
and, having given them a vigorous beating, hung 
them on the balustrade to air, while she took a look 
at her plants. Several tall vases and jars stood there, 
and a month of June sun and rain had worked won- 
ders with the seeds and slips she had planted. Morn- 
ing-glories and nasturtiums ran all over the bars, 
making haste to bloom. Scarlet beans and honey- 
suckles were climbing up from below to meet their 
pretty neighbors, and the woodbine was hanging its 
green festoons wherever it could cling. 

The waters of the bay were dancing in the sunshine, 
a fresh wind stirred the chestnut-trees with a pleasant 
sound, and the garden below was full of roses, butter- 
flies, and bees. A great chirping and twittering went 
on among the birds, busy with their summer house- 
keeping, and, far away, the white-winged gulls were 
dipping and diving in the sea, where ships, like larger 
birds, went sailing to and fro. 

u Oh, Phebe, it ’s such a lovely day, I do wish your 
fine secret was going to happen right away ! I feel 
just like having a good time; don’t you?” said Rose, 
waving her arms as if she was going to fly. 

I often feel that way, but I have to wait for my 
good times, and don’t stop working to wish for ’em. 
There, now you can finish as soon as the dust settles ; 
I must go do my stairs,” and Phebe trudged away 
with the broom, singing as she went. 

Rose leaned where she was, and fell to thinking 
how many good times she had had lately, for the 
gardening had prospered finely, and she was learning 
to swim and row, and there were drives and walks, 


PHEBE'S SECRET. 


95 


and quiet hours of reading and talk with Uncle Alec, 
and, best of all, the old pain and ennui seldom 
troubled her now. She could work and play all day, 
sleep sweetly all night, and enjoy life with the zest of 
a healthy, happy child. She was far from being as 
strong and hearty as Phebe, but she was getting on ; 
the once pale cheeks had color in them now, the hands 
were growing plump and brown, and the belt was not 
much too loose. No one talked to her about her 
health, and she forgot that she had “ no constitution.” 
She took no medicine but Dr. Alec’s three great 
remedies, and they seemed to suit her excellently. 
Aunt Plenty said it was the pills ; but, as no second 
batch ever followed the first, I think the old lady was 
mistaken. 

Rose looked worthy of her name as she stood 
smiling to herself over a happier secret than any 
Phebe had, — a secret which she did not know herself 
till she found out, some years later, the magic of good 
health. 

“ ‘ Look only/ said the brownie, 

‘ At the pretty gown of blue, 

At the kerchief pinned about her head, 

And at her little shoe/ ” 

said a voice from below, as a great cabbage-rose came 
flying against her cheek. 

“ What is the princess dreaming about up there in 
her hanging-garden ? ” added Dr. Alec as she flung 
back a morning-glory. * 

“ I was wishing I could do something pleasant this 
fine day ; something very new and interesting, for the 
wind makes me feel frisky and gay.” 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


96 

“ Suppose we take a pull over to the Island ? I 
intended to go this afternoon; but if you feel more 
like it now, we can be off at once.” 

“ I do ! I do ! I ’ll come in fifteen minutes, uncle. 
I must just scrabble my room to rights, for Phebe 
has got a great deal to do.” 

Rose caught up the rugs and vanished as she spoke, 
while Dr. Alec went in, saying to himself, with an 
indulgent smile, — 

“ It may upset things a trifle, but half a child’s 
pleasure consists in having their fun when they want 
it.” 

Never did duster flap more briskly than the one 
Rose used that day, and never was a room “ scrab- 
bled” to rights in such haste as hers. Tables and 
chairs flew into their places as if alive ; curtains shook 
as if a gale was blowing; china rattled and small 
articles tumbled about as if a young earthquake was 
playing with them. The boating suit went on in a 
twinkling, and Rose was off with a hop and a skip, 
little dreaming how many hours it would be before 
she saw her pretty room again. 

Uncle Alec was putting a large basket into the boat 
when she arrived, and before they were off Phebe 
came running down with a queer, knobby bundle 
done up in a water-proof. 

“ We can’t eat half that luncheon, and I know we 
shall not need so many wraps. I wouldn’t lumber 
the boat up so,” said Rose, who still had secret scares 
when on the water. 

“Couldn’t you make a smaller parcel, Phebe?” 
asked Dr. Alec, eying the bundle suspiciously. 


P HEBE'S SECRET. 


9? 


“ No, sir, not in such a hurry,” and Phebe laughed 
as she gave a particularly large knob a good poke. 

“ Well, it will do for ballast. Don’t forget the note 
co Mrs. Jessie, I beg of you.” 

“ No, sir. I ’ll send it right off,” and Phebe ran up 
the bank as if she had wings to her feet. 

“ W e ’ll take a look at the light-house first, for you 
have not been there yet, and it is worth seeing. By 
the time we have done that it will be pretty warm, 
and we will have lunch under the trees on the Island.” 

Rose was ready for any thing, and enjoyed her visit 
to the light-house on the Point very much, especially 
climbing up the narrow stairs and going inside the 
great lantern. They made a long stay, for Dr. Alec 
seemed in no hurry to go, and kept looking through 
his spy-glass as if he expected to discover something 
remarkable on sea or land. It was past twelve before 
they reached the Island, and Rose was ready for her 
lunch long before she got it. 

“ Now this is lovely ! I do wish the boys were 
here. Won’t it be nice to have them with us all their 
vacation ? Why, it begins to-day, does n’t it ? Oh, 
I wish I’d remembered it sooner, and perhaps they 
would have come with us,” she said, as they lay lux- 
uriously eating sandwiches under the old apple-tree. 

“ So we might. Next time we won’t be in such a 
hurry. I expect the lads will take our heads off when 
they find us out,” answered Dr. Alec, placidly drink- 
ing cold tea. 

“ Uncle, I smell a frying sort of a smell,” Rose said, 
pausing suddenly as she was putting away the remains 
of the lunch half an hour later. 

6 


G 


98 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ So do I ; it is fish, I think.” 

For a moment they both sat with their noses in the 
air, sniffing like hounds ; then Dr. Alec sprang up, 
saying with great decision, — 

“ Now this won’t do ! No one is permitted on this 
island without asking leave. I must see who dares to 
fry fish on my private property.” 

Taking the basket on one arm and the bundle on 
the other, he strode away toward the traitorous smell, 
looking as fierce as a lion, while Rose marched behind 
under her umbrella. 

“We are Robinson Crusoe and his man Friday 
going to see if the savages have come,” she said 
presently, for her fancy was full of the dear old 
stories that all children love so well. 

“ And there they are ! Two tents and two boats, 
as I live ! These rascals mean to enjoy themselves, 
that’s evident.” 

“ There ought to be more boats and no tents. I 
wonder where the prisoners are?” 

“ There are traces of them,” and Dr. Alec pointed 
to the heads and tails of fishes strewn on the grass. 

“ And there are more,” said Rose, laughing, as she 
pointed to a scarlet heap of what looked like lobsters. 

“ The savages are probably eating their victims now ; 
don’t you hear the knives rattle in that tent ? ” 

“We ought to creep up and peep ; Crusoe was cau- 
tious, you know, and Friday scared out of his wits,” 
added Rose, still keeping up the joke. 

“ But this Crusoe is going to pounce upon them 
regardless of consequences. If I am killed and eaten, 
you seize the basket and run for the boat ; there are 
provisions enough for your voyage home.” 


PHEBE'S SECRET. 


99 


With that Uncle Alec slipped round to the front of 
the tent, and, casting in the big bundle like a bomb- 
shell, roared out, in a voice of thunder, — 

“ Pirates, surrender ! ” 

A crash, a shout, a laugh, and out came the savages, 
brandishing knives and forks, chicken bones, and tin 
mugs, and all fell upon the intruder, pommelling him 
unmercifully as they cried, — 

“You came too soon! We are not half ready! 
You ’ve spoilt it all ! Where is Rose ? ” 

“ Here I am,” answered a half-stifled voice, and Rose 
was discovered sitting on the pile of red flannel bath- 
ing-clothes, which she had mistaken for lobsters, and 
where she had fallen in a fit of merriment when she 
discovered that the cannibals were her merry cousins. 

“You good-for-nothing boys! You are always 
bursting out upon me in some ridiculous way, and I 
always get taken in because I’m not used to such 
pranks. Uncle is as bad as the rest, and it ’s great 
fun,” she said, as the lads came round her, half scold- 
ing, half welcoming, and wholly enjoying the double 
surprise. 

“ You were not to come till afternoon, and mamma 
was to be here to receive you. Every thing is in a 
mess now, except your tent ; we got that in order the 
first thing, and you can sit there and see us work,” 
said Archie, doing the honors as usual. 

“Rose felt it in her bones, as Dolly says, that some- : > 
thing was in the wind, and wanted to be off at once. 
So I let her come, and should have kept her away an 
hour longer if your fish had not betrayed you,” ex- 
plained Uncle Alec, subsiding from a ferocious Crusoe 
into his good-natured self again. 


100 


EIGHT COUSINS . 




PHEBE’S SECRET. 10'i 

“ As this seat is rather damp, I think I ’ll rise,” said 
Rose, as the excitement lessened a little. 

Several fishy hands helped her up, and Charlie said, 
as he scattered the scarlet garments over the grass 
with an oar, — 

“We had a jolly good swim before dinner, and I 
told the Brats to spread these to dry. Hope you 
brought your things, Rose, for you belong to the Lob- 
sters, you know, and we can have no end of fun teach- 
ing you to dive and float and tread water.” 

“I didn’t bring any thing — ” began Rose, but 
was interrupted by the Brats (otherwise Will and 
Geordie) , who appeared bearing the big bundle, so 
much demoralized by its fall that a red flannel tunic 
trailed out at one end and a little blue dressing-gown 
at the other, while the knobs proved to be a toilet-case, 
rubbers, and a silver mug. 

“ Oh, that sly Phebe ! This was the secret, and she 
bundled up those things after I went down to the 
boat,” cried Rose, with sparkling eyes/ 

“ Guess something is smashed inside, for a bit of 
glass fell out,” observed Will, as they deposited the 
bundle at her feet. 

“Catch a girl going anywhere without a looking- 
glass. We haven’t got one among the whole lot of 
us,” added Mac, with masculine scorn. 

“ Dandy has ; I caught him touching up his wig be- 
hind the trees after our swim,” cut in Geordie, wagging 
a derisive finger at Steve, who promptly silenced him 
by a smart rap on the head with the drum-stick he 
had just polished off. 

“ Come, come, you lazy lubbers, fall to work, or we 


102 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


shall not be ready for mamma. Take Rose’s things to 
her tent, and tell her all about it, Prince. Mac and 
Steve, you cut away and bring up the rest of the 
straw ; and you small chaps clear off the table, if you 
have stuffed all you can. Please, uncle, I ’d like your 
advice about the boundary lines and the best place for 
the kitchen.” 

Every one obeyed the Chief, and Rose was escorted 
to her tent by Charlie, who devoted himself to her 
service. She was charmed with her quarters, and still 
more so with the programme which he unfolded before 
her as they worked. 

“ We always camp out somewhere in vacation, and 
this year we thought we ’d try the Island. It is handy, 
and our fire-works will show off well from here.” 

“Shall we stay over the Fourth? Three whole 
days ! Oh, me ! what a frolic it will be !” 

“Bless your heart, we often camp for a week, we 
big fellows ; but this year the small chaps wanted to 
come, so we let them. We have great larks, as you’ll 
see ; for we have a cave and play Captain Kidd, and 
have shipwrecks, and races, and all sorts of games. 
Arch and I are rather past that kind of thing now, but 
we do it to please the children,” added Charlie, with a 
sudden recollection of his sixteen years. 

“ I had no idea boys had such good times. Their 
plays never seemed a bit interesting before. But I 
suppose that was because I never knew any boys very 
well, or perhaps you are unusually nice ones,” observed 
Rose, with an artless air of appreciation that was very 
flattering. 

“We are a pretty clever set, I fancy ; but we have a 


PHEBE’S SECRET. 


103 


good many advantages, you see. There are a tribe of 
us, to begin with ; then our family has been here for 
ages, and we have plenty of ‘ spondulics,’ so we can 
rather lord it over the other fellows and do as we like. 
There, ma am, you can hang your smashed glass on 
that nail and do up your back hair as fine as you please. 
You can have a blue blanket or a red one, and a straw 
pillow or an air cushion for your head, whichever you 
like. You can trim up to any extent, and be as free 
and easy as squaws in a wigwam, for this corner is set 
apart for you ladies, and we never cross the line uncle 
is drawing until we ask leave. Any thing more I can 
do for you, cousin ? ” 

“No, thank you. I think I’ll leave the rest till 
auntie comes, and go and help you somewhere else, if 
I may.’’ 

“ Yes, indeed, come on and see to the kitchen. Can 
you cook ? ” asked Charlie, as he led the way to the 
rocky nook where Archie was putting up a sail-cloth 
awning. 

“ I can make tea and toast bread.” 

“Well, we’ll show you how to fry fish and make 
chowder. Now you just set these pots and pans round 
tastefully, and sort of tidy up a bit, for Aunt Jessie 
insists on doing some of the work, and I want it to be 
decent here.” 

By four o’clock the camp was in order, and the 
weary workers settled down on Lookout Rock to 
watch for Mrs. Jessie and Jamie, who was never far 
from mamma’s apron-string. They looked like a flock 
of blue-birds, all being in sailor rig, with blue ribbon 
enough flying from the seven hats to have set up a 


104 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


milliner. Very tuneful blue-birds they were, too, for 
all the lads sang, and the echo of their happy voices 
reached Mrs. Jessie long before she saw them. 

The moment the boat hove in sight up went the 
Island flag, and the blue-jackets cheered lustily, as 
they did on every possible occasion, like true young 
Americans. This welcome was answered by the flapping 
of a handkerchief and the shrill “ Rah ! Rah ! Rah ! ” 
of the one small tar who stood in the stern waving his 
hat manfully, while a maternal hand clutched him 
firmly in the rear. 

Cleopatra landing from her golden galley never re- 
ceived a heartier greeting than “ Little Mum ” as she 
was borne to her tent by the young folk, for love of 
whom she smilingly resigned herself to three days of 
discomfort; while Jamie immediately attached him- 
self to Rose, assuring her of his protection from the 
manifold perils which might assail them. 

Taught by long experience that boys are always 
hungry, Aunt Jessie soon proposed supper, and pro- 
ceeded to get it, enveloped in an immense apron, with 
an old hat of Archie’s stuck atop of her cap. Rose 
helped, and tried to be as handy as Phebe, though the 
peculiar style of table she had to set made it no easy 
task. It was accomplished at last, and a very happy 
party lay about under the trees, eating and drinking out 
of any one’s plate and cup, and quite untroubled by the 
frequent appearance of ants and spiders in places which 
these interesting insects are not expected to adorn. 

“ 1 never thought I should like to wash dishes, but 
I do, said Rose, as she sat in a boat after supper 
lazily rinsing plates in the sea, and rocking luxuriously 
as she wiped them. 


P HEBE'S SECRET . 


105 


“Mum is mighty particular; we just give ’em a 
scrub with sand, and dust ’em off with a bit of paper. 
It ’s much the best way, I think,” replied Geordie, who 
reposed in another boat alongside. 

“ How Phebe would like this ! I wonder uncle did 
not have her come.” * 

“ I believe he tried to, but Dolly was as cross as two 
sticks, and said she could n’t spare her. I ’m sorry, for 
we all like the Phebe bird, and she ’d chirp like a good 
one out here, would n’t she ? ” 

“ She ought to have a holiday like the rest of us. 
It ’s too bad to leave her out. ” 

This thought came back to Rose several times that 
evening, for Phebe would have added much to the 
little concert they had in the moonlight, would have 
enjoyed the stories told, been quick at guessing the 
conundrums, and laughed with all her heart at the fun. 
The merry going to bed would have been best of all, 
for Rose wanted some one to cuddle under the blue 
blanket with her, there to whisper and giggle and tell 
secrets, as girls delight to do. 

Long after the rest were asleep, Rose lay wide 
awake, excited by the novelty of all about her, and a 
thought that had come into her mind. Far away she 
heard a city clock strike twelve ; a large star like a 
mild eye peeped in at the opening of the tent, and the 
soft plash of the waves seemed calling her to come out. 
Aunt Jessie lay fast asleep, with Jamie rolled up like 
a kitten at her feet, and neither stirred as Rose in her 
wrapper crept out to see how the world looked at 
midnight. 

She found it very lovely, and sat down on a cracker 

6 * 


106 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


keg to enjoy it with a heart full of the innocent senti- 
ment of her years. Fortunately, Dr. Alec saw her 
before she had time to catch cold, for coming out to 
tie back the door-flap of his tent for more air, he be- 
held the small figure perched in the moonlight. Hav- 
ing no fear of ghosts, he quietly approached, and, 
seeing that she was wide awake, said, with a hand on 
her shining hair, — 

“ What is my girl doing here ?” 

“ Having a good time,” answered Rose, not at all 
startled. 

“ I wonder what she was thinking about with such 
a sober look ? ” 

“ The story you told of the brave sailor who gave 
up his place on the raft to the woman, and the last 
drop of water to the poor baby. People who make 
sacrifices are very much loved and admired, aren’t 
they ? ” she asked, earnestly. 

“If the sacrifice is a true one. But many of the 
bravest never are known, and get no praise. That 
does not lessen their beauty, though perhaps it makes 
them harder, for we all like sympathy,” and Dr. Alec 
sighed a patient sort of sigh. 

“I suppose you have made a great many? Would 
you mind telling me one of them ? ” asked Rose, ar- 
rested by the sigh. 

“My last was to give up smoking,” was the very 
unromantic answer to her pensive question. 

“ Why did you ? ” 

“ Bad example for the boys.” 

“ That was very good of you, uncle ! Was it hard ? ” 

“ I ’m ashamed to say it was. But as a wise old fel- 


PHEBE'S SECRET. 


107 


low once said, ‘ It is necessary to do right ; it is not 
necessary to be happy.’ ” 

Rose pondered over the saying as if it pleased her, 
and then said, with a clear, bright look, — 

“ A real sacrifice is giving up something you want 
or enjoy very much, isn’t it?” 

“ Yes.” 

“ Doing it one’s own self because one loves another 
person very much and wants her to be happy ? ” 

“Yes.” 

“ And doing it pleasantly, and being glad about it, 
and not minding the praise if it does n’t come ? ” 

“ Yes, dear, that is the true spirit of self-sacrifice; 
you seem to understand it, and I dare say you will 
have many chances in your life to try the real thing 
I hope they won’t be very hard ones.” 

“ I think they will,” began Rose, and there stopped 
short. 

“Well, make one now, and go to sleep, or my girl 
will be ill to-morrow, and then the aunts will say 
camping out was bad for her.” 

“I ’ll go, — goodnight!” and throwing him a kiss, 
the little ghost vanished, leaving Uncle Alec to pace 
the shore and think about some of the unsuspected 
sacrifices that had made him what he was. 


CHAPTER X. 


ROSE’S SACRIFICE. 

HERE certainly were “ larks ” on Campbell’s Isl- 



and next day, as Charlie had foretold, and 
Rose took her part in them like one intent on enjoy- 
ing every minute to the utmost. There was a merry 
breakfast, a successful fishing expedition, and then the 
lobsters came out in full force, for even Aunt Jessie 
appeared in red flannel. There was nothing Uncle 
Alec could not do in the water, and the boys tried 
their best to equal him in strength and skill, so there 
was a great diving and ducking, for every one was 
bent on distinguishing himself. 

Rose swam far out beyond her depth, with uncle to 
float her back; Aunt Jessie splashed placidly in the 
shallow pools, with Jamie paddling near by like a 
little whale beside its mother ; while the lads careered 
about, looking like a flock of distracted flamingoes, 
and acting like the famous dancing party in “ Alice’s 
Adventures in Wonderland.” 

Nothing but chowder would have lured them from 
their gambols in the briny deep ; that time-honored 
dish demanded the concentrated action of several 
mighty minds; so the “Water Babies” came ashore 
and fell to cooking. 


ROSE'S SACRIFICE . 


109 


It is unnecessary to say that, when done, it was the 
most remarkable chowder ever cooked, and the quan- 
tity eaten would have amazed the world if the secret 
had been divulged. After this exertion a siesta was 
considered the thing, and people lay about in tents or 
out as they pleased, the boys looking like warriors 
slumbering where they fell. 

The elders had just settled to a comfortable nap 
when the youngsters rose, refreshed and ready for 
further exploits. A hint sent them all off to the cave, 
and there were discovered bows and arrows, battle 
clubs, old swords, and various relics of an interesting 
nature. Perched upon a commanding rock, with Jamie 
to “ splain ” things to her, Rose beheld a series of stir- 
ring scenes enacted with great vigor and historical 
accuracy by her gifted relatives. 

Captain Cook was murdered by the natives of Owhy- 
hee in the most thrilling manner. Captain Kidd 
buried untold wealth in the chowder kettle at the dead 
of night, and shot both the trusting villains who shared 
the secret of the hiding-place. Sinbad came ashore 
there and had manifold adventures, and numberless 
wrecks bestrewed the sands. 

Rose considered them by far the most exciting 
dramas she had ever witnessed ; and when the perform- 
ance closed with a grand ballet of Feejee Islanders, 
whose barbaric yells alarmed the gulls, she had no 
words in which to express her gratification. 

Another swim at sunset, another merry evening on 
the rocks watching the lighted steamers pass seaward 
and the pleasure-boats come into port, ended the 
second day of the camping out, and sent every one to 


110 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


bed early that they might be ready for the festivities 
of the morrow. 

“ Archie, did n’t I hear uncle ask you to row home 
in the morning for fresh milk and things ? ” 

“Yes; why?” 

“ Please, may I go too ? I have something of great 
importance to arrange ; you know I was carried off in 
a hurry,” Rose said in a confidential whisper as she 
was bidding her cousins good-night. 

“ I ’m willing, and I guess Charlie won’t mind.” 

“ Thank you ; be sure you stand by me when I ask 
leave in the morning, and don’t say any thing till then, 
except to Charlie. Promise,” urged Rose, so eagerly 
that Archie struck an attitude, and cried dramati- 
cally, — 

“ By yonder moon I swear ! ” 

“ Hush ! it ’s all right, go along ; ” and Rose departed 
as if satisfied. 

“ She’s a queer little thing, is n’t she, Prince ? ” 

“ Rather a nice little thing, I think. I ’m quite fond 
of her.” 

Rose’s quick ears caught both remarks, and she re- 
tired to her tent, saying to herself with sleepy dig- 
nity, — 

“ Little thing, indeed ! Those boys talk as if I was 
a baby. They will treat me with more respect after 
to-morrow, I guess.” 

Archie did stand by her in the morning, and her 
request was readily granted, as the lads were coming 
directly back. Off they went, and Rose waved her 
hand to the islanders with a somewhat pensive air, for 
an heroic purpose glowed within her, and the spirit of 


ROSE'S SACRIFICE. 


Ill 


Belf-sacrifice was about to be illustrated in a new and 
touching manner. 

While the boys got the milk Rose ran to Phebe, 
ordered her to leave her dishes, to put on her hat 
and take a note back to Uncle Alec, which would ex- 
plain this somewhat mysterious performance. Phebe 
obeyed, and when she went to the boat Rose accompa- 
nied her, telling the boys she was not ready to go yet, 
but they could some of them come for her when she 
hung a white signal on her balcony. 

“But why not come now? What are you about, 
miss? Uncle won’t like it,” protested Charlie, in great 
amazement. 

“ Just do as I tell you, little boy ; uncle will under- 
stand and explain. Obey, as Phebe does, and ask no 
questions. I can have secrets as well as other people ; ” 
and Rose walked off with an air of lofty independence 
that impressed her friends immensely. 

“It’s some plot between uncle and herself, so 
we won’t meddle. All right, Phebe ? Pull away, 
Prince ; ” and off they went, to be received with 
much surprise by the islanders. 

This was the note Phebe bore: — 

“Dear Uncle, — I am going to take Phebe’s place to-day, and 
let her have all the fun she can- Please don’t mind what she says, 
but keep her, and tell the boys to be very good to her for my sake. 
Don’t think it is easy to do this ; it is very hard to give up the 
best day of all, but I feel so selfish to have all the pleasure, and 
Phebe none, that I wish to make this sacrifice. Do let me, and 
don’t laugh at it ; I truly do not wish to be praised, and I truly 
want to do it. Love to all from “ Rose.” 

“Bless the little dear, what a generous heart she 
has! Shall we go after her, Jessie, or let her have 


112 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


her way?” said Dr. Alec, after the first mingled 
amusement and astonishment had subsided. 

“ Let her alone, and don’t spoil her little sacrifice. 
She means it, I know, and the best way in which we 
can show our respect for her effort is to give Phebe 
a pleasant day. I’m sure she has earned it;” and 
Mrs. Jessie made a sign to the boys to suppress their 
disappointment and exert themselves to please Rose’s 
guest. 

Phebe was with difficulty kept from going straight 
home, and declared that she should not enjoy herself 
one bit without Miss Rose. 

“ She won’t hold out all day, and we shall see her 
paddling back before noon, I ’ll wager any thing,” said 
Charlie ; and the rest so strongly inclined to his 
opinion that they resigned themselves to the loss of 
the little queen of the revels, sure that it would be 
only a temporary one. 

But hour after hour passed, and no signal appeared 
on the balcony, though Phebe watched it hopefully. 
No passing boat brought the truant back, though 
more than one pair of eyes looked out for the bright 
hair under the round hat ; and sunset came, bringing 
no Rose but the lovely color in the western sky. 

“I really did not think the child had it in her. I 
fancied it was a bit of sentiment, but I see she was 
in earnest, and means that her sacrifice shall be a true 
one. Dear little soul ! I’ll make it up to her a thou- 
sand times over, and beg her pardon for thinking it 
might be done for effect,” Dr. Alec said remorsefully, 
as he strained his eyes through the dusk, fancying he 
saw a small figure sitting in the garden as it had sat 


ROSE'S SACRIFICE. 


113 


on the keg the night before, laying the generous little 
plot that had cost more than he could guess. 

Well, she can’t help seeing the fire-works any 
way, unless she is goose enough to think she must 
hide in a dark closet and not look,” said Archie, who 
was rather disgusted at Rose’s seeming ingratitude. 

“ She will see ours capitally, but miss the big ones 
on the hill, unless papa has forgotten all about them,” 
added Steve, cutting short the harangue Mac had 
begun upon the festivals of the ancients. 

“ 1 ’ m sure the sight of her will be better than the 
finest fire-works that ever went off,” said Phebe, 
meditating an elopement with one of the boats if 
she could get a chance. 

“Let things work; if she resists the brilliant in- 
vitation we give her she will be a heroine,” added 
Uncle Alec, secretly hoping that she would not. 

Meanwhile Rose had spent a quiet, busy day help- 
ing Dolly, waiting on Aunt Peace, and steadily re- 
sisting Aunt Plenty’s attempts to send her back to 
the happy island. It had been hard in the morning 
to come in from the bright world outside, with flags 
flying, cannon booming, crackers popping, and every 
one making ready for a holiday, and go to washing 
cups, while Dolly grumbled and the aunts lamented. 
It was very hard to see the day go by, knowing how 
gay each hour must have been across the water, and 
how a word from her would take her where she 
longed to be with all her heart. But it was hardest 
of all when evening came and Aunt Peace was asleep, 
Aunt Plenty seeing a gossip in the parlor, Dolly 
established in the porch to enjoy the show, and noth- 


114 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


ing left for the little maid to do but sit alone in her 
balcony and watch the gay rockets whizz up from 
island, hill, and city, while bands played and boats 
laden with happy people went to and fro in the fitful 
light. 

Then it must be confessed that a tear or two dimmed 
the blue eyes, and once, when a very brilliant display 
illuminated the island for a moment, and she fancied 
she saw the tents, the curly head went down on the 
railing, and a wide-awake nasturtium heard a little 
whisper, — 

“ I hope some one wishes I was there ! ” 

The tears were all gone, however, and she was 
watching the hill and island answer each other with 
what Jamie called “ wliizzers, whirligigs, and busters,” 
and smiling as she thought how hard the boys must 
be working to keep up such a steady fire, when Uncle 
Mac came walking in upon her, saying hurriedly, — 

“ Come, child, put on your tippet, pelisse, or what- 
ever you call it, and run off with me. I came to get 
Phebe, but aunt says she is gone, so I want you. I Ve 
^got Fun down in the boat, and I want you to go with 
us and see my fire-works. Got them up for you, and 
you mustn’t miss them, or I shall be disappointed.” 

“ But, uncle,” began Rose, feeling as if she ought to 
refuse even a glimpse of bliss, “ perhaps — ” 

“ I know, my dear, I know ; aunt told me ; but no 
one needs you now so much as I do, and I insist on 
your coming,” said Uncle Mac, who seemed in a great 
hurry to be off, yet was unusually kind. 

So Rose went and found the little Chinaman with 
a funny lantern waiting to help her in and convulse 


ROSE’S SACRIFICE. 


115 


her with laughter trying to express his emotions in 
pigeon English. The city clocks were striking nine 
as they got out into the bay, and the island fire-works 
seemed to be over, for no rocket answered the last 
Roman candle that shone on the Aunt-hill. 

u Ours are done, I see, but they are going up all 
round the city, and how pretty they are,” said Rose, 
folding her mantle about her and surveying the scene 
with a pensive interest. 

“ Hope my fellows have not got into trouble up 
there,” muttered Uncle Mac, adding, with a satisfied 
chuckle, as a spark shone out, “ No; there it goes ! 
Look, Rosy, and see how you like this one ; it was 
ordered especially in honor of your coming.” 

Rose looked with all her eyes, and saw the spark 
grow into the likeness of a golden vase, then green 
leaves came out, and then a crimson flower glowing 
on the darkness with a splendid lustre. 

“Is it a rose, uncle ?” she asked, clasping her 
hands with delight as she recognized the handsome 
flower. 

“ Of course it is ! Look again, and guess wliafT*" 
those are,” answered Uncle Mac, chuckling and enjoy- 
ing it all like a boy. 

A wreath of what looked at first like purple brooms 
appeared below the vase, but Rose guessed what they 
were meant for and stood straight up, holding by his 
shoulder, and crying excitedly, — 

“ Thistles, uncle, Scotch thistles ! There are seven 
of them, — one for each boy ! Oh, what a joke ! ” 
and she laughed so that she plumped into the bottom 
of the boat and stayed there till the brilliant spectacle 
was quite gone. 


EIGHT COUSINS 



“That was rather a neat thing, I flatter myself,” said Uncle Mac. — Page ii> 





ROSE’S SACRIFICE. 


117 


“That was rather a neat thing, I flatter myself,” 
said Uncle Mac in high glee at the success of his 
illumination. “ Now, shall I leave you on the Island 
or take you home again, my good little girl?” he 
added, lifting her up with such a tone of approbation 
in his voice that Rose kissed him on the spot. 

“ Home, please, uncle ; and I thank you very, very 
much for the beautiful fire-work you got up for me. 
I ’m so glad I saw it ; and I know I shall dream about 
it,” answered Rose steadily, though a wistful glance 
went toward the Island, now so near that she could 
smell powder and see shadowy figures flitting about. 

Home they went; and Rose fell asleep saying to 
herself, “ It was harder than I thought, but I ’m glad 
I did it, and I truly don’t want any reward but 
Phebe’s pleasure.” 


CHAPTER XI. 


POOR MAC. 

R OSE’S sacrifice was a failure in one respect, for, 
though the elders loved her the better for it, 
and showed that they did, the boys were not inspired 
with the sudden respect which she had hoped for. In 
fact, her feelings were much hurt by overhearing 
Archie say that he could n’t see any sense in it ; and 
the Prince added another blow by pronouncing her 
“ the queerest chicken ever seen.” 

It is apt to be so, and it is hard to bear ; for, though 
we do not want trumpets blown, we do like to have 
our little virtues appreciated, and cannot help feeling 
disappointed if they are not. 

A time soon came, however^ when Rose, quite un- 
consciously, won not only the respect of her cousins, 
but their gratitude and affection likewise. 

Soon after the Island episode, Mac had a sun-stroke, 
and was very ill for some time. It was so sudden that 
every one was startled, and for some days the boy’s 
life was in danger. He pulled through, however ; and 
then, just as the family were rejoicing, a new trouble 
appeared which cast a gloom over them all. 


POOR MAC. 


119 


Poor Mac’s eyes gave out ; and well they might, for 
he had abused them, and never being very strong, 
they suffered doubly now. 

No one dared to tell him the dark predictions of the 
great oculist who came to look at them, and the boy 
tried to be patient, thinking that a few weeks of rest 
would repair the overwork of several years. 

He was forbidden to look at a book, and as that was 
the one thing he most delighted in, it was a terrible 
affliction to the Worm. Every one was very ready to 
read to him, and at first the lads contended for this 
honor. But as week after week went by, and Mac 
was still condemned to idleness and a darkened room, 
their zeal abated, and one after the other fell off. It 
was hard for the active fellows, right in the midst of 
their vacation ; and nobody blamed them when they 
contented themselves with brief calls, running of er- 
rands, and warm expressions of sympathy. 

The elders did their best, but Uncle Mac was a busy 
man, Aunt Jane’s reading was of a funereal sort, im- 
possible to listen to long, and the other aunties were 
all absorbed in their own cares, though they supplied 
the boy with every delicacy they could invent. 

Uncle Alec was a host in himself, but he could not 
give all his time to the invalid ; and if it had not been 
for Rose, the afflicted Worm would have fared ill. 
Her pleasant voice suited him, her patience was unfail- 
ing, her time of no apparent value, and her eager 
good-will was very comforting. 

The womanly power of self-devotion was strong in 
the child, and she remained faithfully at her post when 
all the rest dropped away. Hour after hour she sat in 


120 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


the dusky room, with one ray of light on her book, 
reading to the boy, who lay with shaded eyes silently 
enjoying the only pleasure that lightened the weary 
days. Sometimes he was peevish and hard to please, 
sometimes he growled because his reader could not 
manage the dry books he wished to hear, and some- 
times he was so despondent that her heart ached to 
see him. Through all these trials Rose persevered, 
using all her little art3 to please him. When he fret- 
ted, she was patient ; when he growled, she ploughed 
bravely through the hard pages, — not dry to her in 
one sense, for quiet tears dropped on them now and 
then ; and when Mac fell into a despairing mood, she 
comforted him with every hopeful word she dared to 
offer. 

He said little, but she knew he was grateful, for she 
suited him better than any one else. If she was late, 
he was impatient ; when she had to go, he seemed for- 
lorn ; and when the tired head ached worst, she could 
always soothe him to sleep, crooning the old songs her 
father used to love. 

“ I don’t know what I should do without that child,” 
Aunt Jane often said. 

“ She’s worth all those racketing fellows put to- 
gether,” Mac would add, fumbling about to discover 
if the little chair was ready for her coming. 

That was the sort of reward Rose liked, the thanks 
that cheered her ; and whenever she grew very tired, 
one look at the green shade, the curly head so restless 
on the pillow, and the poor groping hands, touched 
her tender heart and put new spirit into the weary 
voice. 


POOR MAC. 


121 


She did not know how much she was learning, both 
from the books she read and the daily sacrifices she 
made. Stories and poetry were her delight, but Mac 
did not care for them ; and since his favorite Greeks 
and Romans were forbidden, he satisfied himself with 
travels, biographies, and the history of great inventions 
or discoveries. Rose despised this taste at first, but 
soon got interested in Livingstone’s adventures, Hob- 
son’s stirring life in India, and the brave trials and 
triumphs of Watt and Arkwright, Fulton, and “Pal- 
issy, the Potter.” The true, strong books helped the 
dreamy girl ; her faithful service and sweet patience 
touched and won the boy; and long afterward both 
learned to see how useful those seemingly hard and 
weary hours had been to them. 

One bright morning, as Rose sat down to begin a 
fat volume entitled “History of the French Revolu- 
tion,” expecting to come to great grief over the long 
names, Mac, who was lumbering about the room like 
a blind bear, stopped her by asking abruptly, — 

“ What day of the month is it ? ” 

“ The seventh of August, I believe.” 

“ More than half my vacation gone, and I ’ve only 
had a week of it ! I call that hard,” and he groaned 
dismally. 

“ So it is ; but there is more to come, and you may 
be able to enjoy that.” 

“ May be able! I will be able! Does that old 
noodle think I ’m going to stay stived up here much 
longer ? ” 

“ I guess he does, unless your eyes get on faster than 
they have yet” 

6 


122 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ Has he said any thing more lately ? ” 

u I have n’t seen him, you know. Shall I begin? 
— this looks rather nice.” 

“ Read away ; it ’s all one to me.” And Mac cast 
himself down upon the old lounge, where his heavy 
head felt easiest. 

Rose began with great spirit, and kept on gallantly 
for a couple of chapters, getting over the unpronounce- 
able names with unexpected success, she thought, for 
her listener did not correct her once, and lay so still 
she fancied he was deeply interested. All of a sudden 
she was arrested in the middle of a fine paragraph by 
Mac, who sat bolt upright, brought both feet down 
with a thump, and said, in a rough, excited tone, — 

“ Stop ! I don’t hear a word, and you may as well 
save your breath to answer my question.” 

“ What is it ? ” asked Rose, looking uneasy, for she 
had something on her mind, and feared that he sus- 
pected what it was. His next words proved that she 
was right. 

“ Now look here, I want to know something, and 
you ’ve got to tell me.” 

“ Please, don’t, — ” began Rose, beseechingly. 

“ You must, or I ’ll pull off this shade and stare at 
the sun as hard as ever I can stare. Come now ! ” and 
he half rose, as if ready to execute the threat. 

“ I will ! oh, I will tell, if I know ! But don’t be 
reckless and do any thing so crazy as that,” cried Rose, 
in great distress. 

“Very well; then listen, and don’t dodge, as every 
one else does. Did n’t the doctor think my eyes worse 
the last time he came? Mother won’t say, but you 
shall : ” 


POOR MAC. 


123 


“ I believe he did,” faltered Rose. 

“ I thought so ! Did he say I should be able to go 
to school when it begins ? ” 

“ No, Mac,” very low. 

“Ah!” 

That was all, but Rose saw her cousin set his lips 
together and take a long breath, as if she had hit him 
hard. He bore the disappointment bravely, however, 
and asked quite steadily in a minute, — 

“ How soon does he think I can study again ? ” 

It was so hard to answer that ! Yet Rose knew she 
must, for Aunt Jane had declared she could not do it, 
and Uncle Mac had begged her to break the truth to 
the poor lad. 

“ Not for a good many months.” 

“How many?” he asked with a pathetic sor„t of 
gruffness. 

“A year, perhaps.” 

“ A whole year ! Why, I expected to be ready for 
college by that time.” And, pushing up the shade, 
Mac stared at her with startled eyes, that soon blinked 
and fell before the one ray of light. 

“ Plenty of time for that ; you must be patient now, 
and get them thoroughly well, or they will trouble 
you again when it will be harder to spare them,” she 
said, with tears in her own eyes. 

“ I won’t do it ! I will study and get through some- 
how. It’s all humbug about taking care so long. 
These doctors like to keep hold of a fellow if they 
can. But I won’t stand it, — I vow I won’t!” and 
he banged his fist down on the unoffending pillow 
as if he were pommelling the hard-hearted doctor. 


124 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


« Now, Mac, listen to me,” Rose said very earnestly, 
though her voice shook a little and her heart ached. 
“ You know you have hurt your eyes reading by fire- 
light and in the dusk, and sitting up late, and now 
you’ll have to pay for it ; the doctor said so. You 
must be careful, and do as he tells you, or you will 
be — blind.” 

“No!” 

“ Yes, it is true, and he wanted us to tell you that 
nothing but entire rest would cur.' you. I know it’s 
dreadfully hard, but we ’ll all help you ; I ’ll read all 
day long, and lead you, and wait upon you, and try 
to make it easier — ” 

She stopped there, for it was evident that he did 
not hear a sound ; the word “ blind ” seemed to have 
knocked him down, for lie had buried his face in the 
pillow, and lay so still that Rose was frightened. 
She sat motionless for many minutes, longing to 
comfort him, but not knowing how, and wishing 
Uncle Alec would come, for he had promised to tell 
Mac. 

Presently, a sort of choking sound came out of the 
pillow, and went straight to her heart, — the most 
pathetic sob she ever heard, for, though it was the 
most natural means of relief, the poor fellow must 
not indulge in it because of the afflicted eyes. The 
“French Revolution” tumbled out of her lap, and, 
running to the sofa, she knelt down by it, saying, with 
the motherly sort of tenderness girls feel for any 
sorrowing creature, — 

“ Oh, my dear, you must n’t cry ! It is so bad for 
your poor eyes. Take your head out of that hot 


POOR MAC. 


125 


pillow, and let me cool it. I don’t wonder you feel 
so, but please don’t cry. I ’ll cry for you ; it won’t 
hurt me .” 



“ RUNNING TO THE SOFA, SHE KNELT DOWN BY IT.” 

As she spoke, she pulled away the cushion adth 
gentle force, and saw the green shade all crushed 
and stained with the few hot tears that told how 


126 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


bitter the disappointment had been. Mac felt her 
sympathy, but, being a boy, did not thank her for it ; 
only sat up with a jerk, saying, as he tried to rub 
away the tell-tale drops with the sleeve of his jacket : 
“Don’t bother; weak eyes always water. I’m all 
right.” 

But Rose cried out, and caught his arm: “Don’t 
touch them with that rough woollen stuff ! Lie down 
and let me bathe them, there ’s a dear boy ; then there 
will be no harm done.” 

“ They do smart confoundedly. I say, don’t you 
tell the other fellows that I made a baby of myself, 
will you?” he added, yielding with a sigh to the 
orders of his nurse, who had flown for the eye-wash 
and linen cambric handkerchief. 

“ Of course I won’t ; but any one would be upset 
at the idea of being — well — troubled in this way. 
I’m sure you bear it splendidly, and you know it 
isn’t half so bad when you get used to it. Besides, 
it is only for a time, and you can do lots of pleasant 
things if you can’t study. You’ll have to wear blue 
goggles, perhaps; won’t that be funny?” 

And while she was pouring out all the comfortable 
words she could think of, Rose was softly bathing the 
eyes and dabbing the hot forehead with lavender- 
water, as her patient lay quiet with a look on his 
face that grieved her sadly. 

“ Homer was blind, and so was Milton, and they 
did something to be remembered by, in spite of it,” 
he said, as if to himself, in a solemn tone, for even 
the blue goggles did not bring a smile. 

“ Papa had a picture of Milton and his daughters 


POOR MAC. 


127 


writing for him. It was a very sweet picture, I 
thought,” observed Rose in a serious voice, trying 
to meet the sufferer on his own ground. 

“ Perhaps I could study if some one read and did 
the eye part. Do you suppose I could, by and by ? ” 
he asked, with a sudden ray of hope. 

“ I dare say, if your head is strong enough. This 
sun-stroke, you know, is what upset you, and your 
brains need rest, the doctor says.” 

“ I ’ll have a talk with the old fellow next time he 
comes, and find out just what I may do ; then I shall 
know where I am. What a fool I was that day to be 
stewing my brains and letting the sun glare on my 
book till the letters danced before me ! I see ’em 
now when I shut my eyes ; black balls bobbing round, 
and stars and all sorts of queer things. Wonder if 
all blind people do?” 

“ Don’t think about them ; I ’ll go on reading, shall 
I? We shall come to the exciting part soon, and 
then you’ll forget all this,” suggested Rose. 

“No, I never shall forget. Hang the old ‘Revolu- 
tion ! ’ I don’t want to hear another word of it. My 
head aches, and I ’m hot. Oh, would n’t I like to go 
for a pull in the ‘ Stormy Petrel ! ’ ” and poor Mac 
tossed about as if he did not know what to do with 
himself. 

“ Let me sing, and perhaps you ’ll drop off ; then 
the day will seem shorter,” said Rose, taking up a 
fan and sitting down beside him. 

“ Perhaps I shall ; I did n’t sleep much last night, 
and when I did I dreamed like fun. See here, you 
tell the people that I know, and it’s all right, and 


128 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


I don’t want them to talk about it or howl over me. 
That ’s all ; now drone away, and I ’ll try to sleep. 
Wish I could for a year, and wake up cured.” 

u Oh, I wish, I wish you could ! ” 

Rose said it so fervently, that Mac was moved to 
grope for her apron and hold on to a corner of it, as 
if it was comfortable to feel her near him. But all 
he said was, — 

“ You are a good little soul, Rosy. Give us 4 The 
Birks ; ’ that is a drowsy one that always sends me 
off.” 

Quite contented with this small return for all her 
sympathy, Rose waved her fan and sang, in a dreamy 
tone, the pretty Scotch air, the burden of which is, — 

" Bonny lassie, will ye gang, will ye gang 
To the Birks of Aberfeldie 1 ” 

Whether the lassie went or not I cannot say, but 
the laddie was off to the land of Nod in about ten 
minutes, quite worn out with hearing the bad tidings 
and the effort to bear them manfully. 


CHAPTER XII. 


“ THE OTHER FELLOWS” 

R OSE did tell “ the people ” what had passed, 
and no one “howled” over Mac, or said a 
word to trouble him. He had his talk with the 
doctor, and got very little comfort out of it, for he 
found that “just what he might do” was nothing at 
all; though the prospect of some study by and by, 
if all went well, gave him courage to bear the woes 
of the present. Having made up his mind to this, 
he behaved so well that every one was astonished, 
never having suspected so much manliness in the 
quiet Worm. 

The boys were much impressed, both by the great- 
ness of the affliction which hung over him and by 
his way of bearing it. They were very good to him, 
but not always particularly wise in their attempts to 
cheer and amuse ; and Rose often found him much 
downcast after a visit of condolence from the Clan. 
She still kept her place as head-nurse and chief-reader, 
though the boys did their best in an irregular sort of 
way. They were rather taken aback sometimes at 
finding Rose’s services preferred to theirs, and pri- 
vately confided to one another that “Old Mac was 
6 * 


i 


130 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


getting fond of being molly-coddled.” But they could 
not help seeing how useful she was, and owning that 
she alone had remained faithful, — a fact which caused 
some of them much secret compunction now and 
then. 

Rose felt that she ruled in that room, if nowhere 
else, for Aunt Jane left a great deal to her, finding 
that her experience with her invalid father fitted her 
for a nurse, and in a case like this her youth was an 
advantage rather than a drawback. Mac soon came 
to think that no one could take care of him so well 
as Rose, and Rose soon grew fond of her patient, 
though at first she had considered this cousin the least 
attractive of the seven. He was not polite and sensi- 
ble like Archie, nor gay and handsome like Prince 
Charlie, nor neat and obliging like Steve, nor amusing 
like the “Brats,” nor confiding and affectionate like 
little Jamie. He was rough, absent-minded, careless, 
and awkward, rather priggish, and not at all agreeable 
to a dainty, beauty-loving girl like Rose. 

But when his trouble came upon him, she discov- 
ered many good things in this cousin of hers, and 
learned not only to pity but to respect and love the 
poor Worm, who tried to be patient, brave, and cheer- 
ful, and found it a harder task than any one guessed, 
except the little nurse, who saw him in his gloomiest 
moods. She soon came to think that his friends did 
not appreciate him, and upon one occasion was moved 
to free her mind in a way that made a deep impression 
on the boys. 

Vacation was almost over, and the time drawing near 
when Mac would be left outside the happy school- world 


“ THE OTHER FELLOWS.” 


131 


which he so much enjoyed. This made him rather 
low in his mind, and his cousins exerted themselves 
to cheer him up, especially one afternoon when a spasm 
of devotion seemed to seize them all. Jamie trudged 
down the hill with a basket of blackberries which he 
had “ picked all his ownself,” as his scratched fingers 
and stained lips plainly testified. Will and Geordie 
brought their puppies to beguile the weary hours, and 
the three elder lads called to discuss base-ball, cricket, 
and kindred subjects, eminently fitted to remind the 
invalid of his privations. 

Rose had gone to drive with Uncle Alec, who de- 
clared she was getting as pale as a potato sprout, living 
so much in a dark room. But her thoughts were with 
her boy all the while, and she ran up to him the mo- 
ment she returned, to find things in a fine state of con- 
fusion. 

With the best intentions in life, the lads had done 
more harm than good, and the spectacle that met 
Nurse Rose’s eye was a trying one. The puppies 
were yelping, the small boys romping, and the big 
boys all talking at once; the curtains were up, the 
room close, berries scattered freely about, Mac’s shade 
half off, his cheeks flushed, his temper ruffled, and his 
voice loudest of all as he disputed hotly with Steve 
about lending certain treasured books which he could 
no longer use. 

Now Rose considered this her special kingdom, and 
came down upon the invaders with an energy which 
amazed them and quelled the riot at once. They had 
never seen her roused before, and the effect was tre- 
mendous ; also comical, for she drove the whole flock 




EIGHT COUSINS, 


132 



“THE OTHER FELLOWS.” 


183 


of boys out of the room like an indignant little hen 
defending her brood. They all went as meekly as 
sheep ; the small lads fled from the house precipitately, 
but the three elder ones only retired to the next room, 
and remained there hoping for a chance to explain and 
apologize, and so appease the irate young lady, who 
had suddenly turned the tables and clattered them 
about their ears. 

As they waited, they observed her proceedings 
through the half-open door, and commented upon 
them briefly but expressively, feeling quite bowed 
down with remorse at the harm they had innocently 
done. 

“ She ’s put the room to rights in a jiffy. What 
jacks we were to let those dogs in and kick up such a 
row,” observed Steve, after a prolonged peep. 

“The poor old Worm turns as if she was treading 
on him instead of cuddling him like a pussy cat. 
Is n’t he cross, though ? ” added Charlie, as Mac was 
heard growling about his “ confounded head.” 

“ She will manage him ; but it ’s mean in us to rum- 
ple him up and then leave her to smooth him down. 
I ’d go and help, but I don’t know how,” said Archie, 
looking much depressed, for he was a conscientious 
fellow, and blamed himself for his want of thought. 

“ No more do I. Odd, is n’t it, what a knack women 
have for taking care of sick folks ? ” and Charlie fell 
a -musing over this undeniable fact. 

“ She has been ever so good to Mac,” began Steve, 
in a self-reproachful tone. 

“ Better than his own brother, hey ? ” cut in Archie, 
finding relief for his own regret in the delinquencies 
of another. 


134 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ Well, you need n’t preach ; you did n’t any of you 
do any more, and you might have, for Mac likes you 
better than he does me. I always fret him, he says, 
and it is n’t my fault if I am a quiddle,” protested 
Steve, in self-defence. 

“We have all been selfish and neglected him, so we 
won’t fight about it, but try and do better,” said 
Archie, generously taking more than his share of 
blame, for he had been less inattentive than either of 
the others. 

“ Rose has stood by him like a good one, and it ’s 
no wonder he likes to have her round best. I should 
myself if I was down on my luck as he is,” put in 
Charlie, feeling that he really had not done “ the little' 
thing ” justice. 

“I’ll tell you what it is, boys, — we haven’t been 
half good enough to Rose, and we ’ve got to make it 
up to her somehow,” said Archie, who had a very 
manly sense of honor about paying his debts, even to 
a girl. 

“I’m awfully sorry I made fun of her doll when 
J amie lugged it out ; and I called her 4 baby bunting ’ 
when she cried over the dead kitten. Girls are such 
geese sometimes, I can’t help it,” said Steve, confess- 
ing his transgressions handsomely, and feeling quite 
ready to atone for them if he only knew how. 

“ I ’ll go down on my knees and beg her pardon for 
treating her as if she was a child. Don’t it make her 
mad, though? Come to think of it, she’s only two 
years or so younger than I am. But she is so small 
and pretty, she always seems like a dolly to me,” and 
the Prince looked down from his lofty height of five 


“ THE OTHER FELLOWS” 


135 


feet five as if Rose was indeed a pygmy beside 
him. 

“ That dolly has got a real good little heart, and a 
bright mind of her own, you ’d better believe. Mac 
says she understands some things quicker than he can, 
and mother thinks she is an uncommonly nice girl, 
though she don’t know all creation. You need n’t put 
on airs, Charlie, though you are a tall one, for Rose 
likes Archie better than you ; she said she did because 
he treated her respectfully.” 

“ Steve looks as fierce as a game-cock ; but don’t you 
get excited,. my son, for it won’t do a bit of good. Of 
course, everybody likes the Chief best ; they ought to, 
and I’ll punch their heads if they don’t. So calm 
yourself, Dandy, and mend your own manners before 
you come down on other people’s.” 

Thus the Prince with great dignity and perfect good 
nature, while Archie looked modestly gratified with 
the flattering opinions of his kinsfolk, and Steve sub- 
sided, feeling he 'had done his duty as a cousin and a 
brother. A pause ensued, during which Aunt Jane 
appeared in the other room, accompanied by a tea-tray 
sumptuously spread, and prepared to feed her big nest- 
ling, as that was a task she allowed no one to share 
with her. 

“ If you have a minute to spare before you go, child, 
I wiish you ’d just make Mac a fresh shade ; this has 
got a berry stain on it, and he must be tidy, for he is 
to go out to-morrow if it is a cloudy day,” said Mrs. 
Jane, spreading toast in a stately manner, while Mac 
slopped his tea about without receiving a word of re- 
proof. 


136 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“Yes, aunt,” answered Rose, so meekly that the 
boys could hardly believe it could be the same voice 
which had issued the stern command, “Out of this 
room, every one of you ! ” not very long ago. 

They had not time to retire, without unseemly haste, 
before she walked into the parlor and sat down at the 
work-table without a word. It was funny to see the 
look the three tall lads cast at the little person sedately 
threading a needle with green silk. They all wanted 
to say something expressive of repentance, but no one 
knew how to begin, and it was evident, from the prim 
expression of Rose’s face, that she intended to stand 
upon her dignity till they had properly abased them- 
selves. The pause was becoming very awkward, when 
Charlie, who possessed all the persuasive arts of a born 
scapegrace, went slowly down upon his knees before 
her, beat his breast, and said, in a heart-broken tone, — 

“Please forgive me this time, and I’ll never do 
so any more.” 

It was very hard to keep sober, but Rose managed 
it, and answered gravely, — 

“ It is Mac’s pardon you should ask, not mine, for 
you have n’t hurt me, and I should n’t wonder if you 
had him a great deal, with all that light $nd racket, 
and talk about things that only worry him.” 

“Do you really think we’ve hurt him, cousin?” 
asked Archie, with a troubled look, while Charlie 
settled down in a remorseful heap among the table 
legs. 

“ Yes, I do, for he has got a raging headache, and 
his eyes are as red as — as this emery bag,” answered 
Rose, solemnly plunging her needle into a fat flannel 
strawberry. 


“THE OTHER FELLOWS” 


137 


Steve tore his hair, metaphorically speaking, for 
he clutched his cherished top-knot and wildly dishev- 
elled it, as if that was the heaviest penance he could 
inflict upon himself at such short notice. Charlie laid 
himself out flat, melodramatically begging some one 
to take him away and hang him; but Archie, who 
felt worst of all, said nothing except to vow within 
himself that he would read to Mac till his own eyes 
were as red as a dozen emery bags combined. 

Seeing the wholesome effects of her treatment upon 
these culprits, Rose felt that she might relent and 
allow them a gleam of hope. She found it impossible 
to help trampling upon the prostrate Prince a little, 
in words at least, for he had hurt her feelings oftener 
than he knew ; so she gave him a thimble-pie on the 
top of his head, and said, with the air of an infinitely 
superior being, — 

“ Don’t be silly, but get up, and I ’ll tell you some- 
thing much better to do than sprawling on the floor 
and getting all over lint.” 

Charlie obediently sat himself upon a hassock at her 
feet ; the other sinners drew near to catch the words 
of wisdom about to fall from her lips, and Rose, soft- 
ened by this gratifying humility, addressed them in 
her most maternal tone. 

“Now, boys, if you really want to be good to Mac, 
you can do it in this way. Don’t keep talking about 
things he can’t do, or go and tell what fun you have 
had batting your ridiculous balls about. Get some 
nice book and read quietly ; cheer him up about 
school, and offer to help him study by and by ; you 
can do that better than I, because I’m only a girl, 


138 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


and don’t learn Greek and Latin and all sorts of 
headachy stuff.” 

“ Yes, but you can do heaps of things better than 
we can ; you ’ve proved that,” said Archie, with an 
approving look that delighted Rose, though she could 
not resist giving Charlie one more rebuke, by saying, 
with a little bridling up of the head, and a curl of the 
lip that wanted to smile instead, — 

“I’m glad you think so, though I am a ‘queer 
chicken.’ ” 

This scathing remark caused the Prince to hide his 
face for shame, and Steve to erect his head in the 
proud consciousness that this shot was not meant for 
him. Archie laughed, and Rose, seeing a merry blue 
eye winking at her from behind two brown hands, 
gave Charlie’s ear a friendly tweak, and extended the 
olive-branch of peace. 

“ Now we ’ll all be good, and plan nice things for 
poor Mac,” she said, smiling so graciously that the 
boys felt as if the sun had suddenly burst out froin^ 
behind a heavy cloud and was shining with great 
brilliancy. 

The storm had cleared the air, and quite a heavenly 
calm succeeded, during which plans of a most varied 
and surprising sort were laid, for every one burned 
to make noble sacrifices upon the shrine of “poor 
Mac,” and Rose was the guiding star to whom the 
others looked with most gratifying submission. Of 
course, this elevated state of things could not endure 
long, but it was very nice while it lasted, and left an 
excellent effect upon the minds of all when the first 
ardor had subsided. 


“ THE OTHER FELLOWS .” 


139 


“ There, that ’s ready for to-morrow, and I do hope 
it will be cloudy,” said Rose, as she finished off 
the new shade, the progress of which the boys had 
watched with interest. 

“ I ’d bespoken an extra sunny day, but I ’ll tell the 
clerk of the weather to change it. He ’s an obliging 
fellow, and he ’ll attend to it ; so make yourself easy,” 
said Charlie, who had become quite perky again. 

“It is very easy for you to joke, but how would 
you like to wear a blinder like that for weeks and 
weeks, sir?” and Rose quenched his rising spirits 
by slipping the shade over his eyes, as he still sat 
on the cushion at her feet. 

“It’s horrid! Take it off, take it off! I don’t 
wonder the poor old boy has the blues with a thing 
like that on ; ” and Charlie sat looking at what seemed 
to him an instrument of torture, with such a sober face 
that Rose took it gently away, and went in to bid 
Mac good-night. 

“I shall go home with her, for it is getting dark- 
ish, and she is rather timid,” said Archie, forgetting 
that he had often laughed at this very timidity. 

“ I think I might, for she ’s taking care of my 
brother,” put in Steve, asserting his rights. 

“ Let ’s all go ; that will please her,” proposed 
Charlie, with a burst of gallantry which electrified 
his mates. 

“We will!” they said with one voice, and they 
did, to Rose’s great surprise and secret contentment ; 
though Archie had all the care of her, for the other 
two were leaping fences, running races, and having 
wrestling matches all the way down. 


140 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


They composed themselves on reaching the door, 
however ; shook hands cordially all round, made their 
best bows, and retired with great elegance and dig- 
nity, leaving Rose to say to herself, with girlish 
satisfaction, as she went in, — 

“ Now, that is the way I like to be treated.” 




CHAPTER XIII. 


COSEY CORNER. 



ACATION was over, the boys went back to 


▼ school, and poor Mac was left lamenting. He 
was out of the darkened room now, and promoted to 
blue goggles, through which he took a gloomy view of 
life, as might have been expected ; for there was noth- 
ing he could do but wander about, and try to amuse 
himself without using his eyes. Any one who has 
ever been condemned to that sort of idleness knows 
how irksome it is, and can understand the state of 
mind which caused Mac to say to Rose in a desperate 
tone one day, — 

“ Look here, if you don’t invent some new employ- 
ment or amusement for me, I shall knock myself on 
the head as sure as you live.” 

Rose flew to Uncle Alec for advice, and he ordered 
both patient and nurse to the mountains for a month, 
with Aunt Jessie and Jamie as escort. Pokey and her 
mother joined the party, and one bright September 
morning six very happy-looking people were aboard 
the express train for Portland, — two smiling mammas, 
laden with luncheon baskets and wraps ; a pretty 
young girl with a bag of books on her arm; a tall, 
thin lad with his hat over his eyes; and two small 


142 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


children, who sat with their short legs straight out 
before them, and their chubby faces beaming with 
the first speechless delight of “truly travelling.” 

An especially splendid sunset seemed to have been 
prepared to welcome them when, after a long day’s 
journey, they drove into a wide, green door-yard, 
where a white colt, a red cow, two cats, four kittens, 
many hens, and a dozen people, old and young, were 
gayly disporting themselves. Every one nodded and 
smiled in the friendliest manner, and a lively old lady 
kissed the new-comers all round, as she said heart- 
ily,— 

“Well, now, I’m proper glad to see you! Come 
right in and rest, and we’ll have tea in less than no 
time, for you must be tired. Lizzie, you show the 
folks upstairs; Kitty, you fly round and help father 
in with the trunks; and Jenny and I will have the 
table all ready by the time you come down. Bless 
the dears, they want to go see the pussies, and so they 
shall ! ” 

The three pretty daughters did “fly round,” and 
every one felt at home at once, all were so hospitable 
and kind. Aunt Jessie had raptures over the home' 
made carpets, quilts, and quaint furniture ; Rose could 
not keep away from the windows, for each framed a 
lovely picture; and the little folks made friends at 
once with the other children, who filled their arms 
with chickens and kittens, and did the honors hand- 
somely. 

The toot of a horn called all to supper, and a 
goodly party, including six children besides the Camp- 
bells, assembled in the long dining-room, armed with 


COSEY CORNER. 


143 


mountain appetites and the gayest spirits. It was 
impossible for any one to be shy or sober, for such 
gales of merriment arose they blew the starch out 
of the stillest, and made the saddest jolly. Mother 
Atkinson, as all called their hostess, was the merriest 
there, and the busiest ; for she kept flying up to wait 
on the children, to bring out some new dish, or to 
banish the live stock, who were of such a social turn 
that the colt came into the entry and demanded sugar ; 
the cats sat about in people’s laps, winking sugges- 
tively at the food; and speckled hens cleared the 
kitchen floor of crumbs, as they joined in the chat 
with a cheerful clucking. 

Everybody turned out after tea to watch the sun- 
set till all the lovely red was gone, and mosquitoes 
wound their shrill horns to sound the retreat. The 
music of an organ surprised the new-comers, and in 
the parlor they found Father Atkinson playing sweetly 
on the little instrument made by himself. All the 
children gathered about him, and, led by the tuneful 
sisters, sang prettily till Pokey fell asleep behind the 
door, and Jamie gaped audibly right in the middle of 
his favorite, — 

“ Coo,” said the little doves : “ Coo,” said she, 

“ All in the top of the old pine-tree.” 

The older travellers, being tired, went to “ bye low ” 
at the same time, and slept like tops in home-spun 
sheets, on husk mattresses made by Mother Atkinson, 
who seemed to have put some soothing powder among 
them, so deep and sweet was the slumber that came. 

Next day began the wholesome out-of-door life, 


144 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


which works such wonders with tired minds and 
feeble bodies. The weather was perfect', and the 
mountain air made the children as frisky as young 
lambs; while the elders went about smiling at one 
another, and saying, “ Is n’t it splendid ? ” Even 
Mac, the “ slow coach,” was seen to leap over a fence 
as if he really could not help it ; and when Rose ran 
after him with his broad-brimmed hat, he made the 
spirited proposal to go into the woods and hunt for a 
catamount. 

Jamie and Pokey were at once enrolled in the 
Cosey Corner Light Infantry, — a truly superb com- 
pany, composed entirely of officers, all wearing cocked 
hats, carrying flags, waving swords, or beating drums. 
It was a spectacle to stir the dullest soul when this 
gallant band marched out of the yard in full regimen- 
tals, with Captain Dove — a solemn, big-headed boy 
of eleven — issuing his orders with the gravity of a 
general, and his Falstaffian regiment obeying them 
with more docility than skill. The little Snow chil- 
dren did very well, and Lieutenant Jack Dove was 
fine to see ; so was Drummer Frank, the errand-boy 
of the house, as he rub-ardub-dubbed with all his heart 
and drumsticks. Jamie had “trained” before, and 
was made a colonel at once ; but Pokey was the best 
of all, and called forth a spontaneous burst of applause 
from the spectators as she brought up the rear, her 
cocked hat all over one eye, her flag trailing over her 
shoulder, and her wooden sword straight up in the 
air; her face beaming and every curl bobbing with 
delight as her fat legs tottered in the vain attempt to 
keep step manfully. 


COSEY CORNER. 


145 


Mac and Rose were picking blackberries in the 
bushes beside the road when the soldiers passed with- 
out seeing them, and they witnessed a sight that was 
both pretty and comical. A little farther on was one 
of the family burial spots so common in those parts, 
and just this side of it Captain Fred Dove ordered 
his company to halt, explaining his reason for so 
doing in the following words : — 

“ That ’s a graveyard, and it ’s proper to muffle the 
drums and lower the flags as we go by, and we’d 
better take off our hats, too ; it ’s more respectable, 
I think.” 

“ Is n’t that cunning of the dears ? ” whispered Rose, 
as the little troop marched slowly by to the muffled 
roll of the drums, every flag and sword held low, all 
the little heads uncovered, and the childish faces very 
sober as the leafy shadows flickered over them. 

“Let’s follow and see what they are after,” pro- 
posed Mac, who found sitting on a wall and being 
fed with blackberries luxurious but tiresome. 

So they followed and heard the music grow lively, 
saw the banners wave in the breeze again when the 
graveyard was passed, and watched the company file 
into the dilapidated old church that stood at the corner 
of three woodland roads. Presently the sound of sing- 
ing made the outsiders quicken their steps, and, stealing 
up, they peeped in at one of the broken windows. 

Captain Dove was up in the old wooden pulpit, 
gazing solemnly down upon his company, who, hav- 
ing stacked their arms in the porch, now sat in the 
bare pews singing a Sunday-school hymn with great 
vigor and relish. 

7 * 


146 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“Let us pray,” said Captain Dove, with as much 
reverence as an army chaplain ; and, folding his 
hands, he repeated a prayer which he thought all 
would know, — an excellent little prayer, but not 
exactly appropriate to the morning, for it was, — 

“ Now I lay me down to sleep.” 

Every one joined in saying it, and it was a pretty 
sight to see the little creatures bowing their curly 
heads and lisping out the words they knew so well. 
Tears came into Rose’s eyes as she looked ; Mac took 
his hat off involuntarily, and then clapped it on again 
as if ashamed of showing any feeling. 

“Now I shall preach you a short sermon, and my 
text is, ‘ Little children, love one another.’ I asked 
mamma to give me one, and she thought that would 
be good ; so you all sit still and I ’ll preach it. You 
must n’t whisper, Marion, but hear me. It means 
that we should be good to each other, and play fair, 
and not quarrel as we did this very day about the 
wagon. Jack can’t always drive, and needn’t be mad 
because I like to go with Frank. Annette ought to 
be horse sometimes and not always driver ; and Willie 
may as well make up his mind to let Marion build her 
house by his, for she will do it, and he need n’t fuss 
about it. Jamie seems to be a good boy, but I shall 
preach to him if he isn’t. No, Pokey, people don’t 
kiss in church or put their hats on. Now you must 
all remember what I tell you, because I ’m the cap- 
tain, and you should mind me.” 

Here Lieutenant Jack spoke right out in meeting 
with the rebellious remark, — 


COSEY CORNER. 


147 


“ Don’t care if you are ; you ’d better mind your- 
self, and tell how you took away my strap, and kept 
the biggest doughnut, and did n’t draw fair when we 
had the truck.” 

“ Yes, and you slapped Frank ; I saw you,” bawled 
Willie Snow, bobbing up in his pew. 

“And you took my book away and hid it ’cause 
I would n’t go and swing when you wanted me to,” 
added Annette, the oldest of the Snow trio. 

“ I shan't build my house by Willie’s if he don’t 
want me to, so now ! ” put in little Marion, joining 
the mutiny. 

“ I will tiss Dimmy ! and I tored up my hat ’tause 
a pin picked me,” shouted Pokey, regardless of Jamie’s 
efforts to restrain her. 

Captain Dove looked rather taken aback at this 
outbreak in the ranks ; but, being a dignified and calm 
personage, he quelled the rising rebellion with great 
tact and skill by saying, briefly, — 

“We will sing the last hymn ; ‘ Sweet, sweet good- 
by,’ — you all know that, so do it nicely, and then 
we will go and have luncheon.” 

Peace was instantly restored, and a burst of melody 
drowned the suppressed giggles of Rose and Mac, who 
found it impossible to keep sober during the latter 
part of this somewhat remarkable service. Fifteen 
minutes of repose rendered it a physical impossibility 
for the company to march out as quietly as they had 
marched in. I grieve to state that the entire troop 
raced home as hard as they could pelt, and were soon 
skirmishing briskly over their lunch, utterly oblivious 
of what Jamie (who had been much impressed by the 
sermon) called “ the captain’s beautiful teck.” 


148 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


It was astonishing how much they all found to do 
at Cosey Corner ; and Mac, instead of lying in a ham- 
mock and being read to, as he had expected, was 
busiest of all. He was invited to survey and lay out 
Skeeterville, a town which the children were getting 
up in a huckleberry pasture ; and he found much 
amusement in planning little roads, staking off house- 
lots, attending to the water-works, and consulting 
with the “ selectmen ” about the best sites for public 
buildings ; for Mac was a boy still, in spite of his 
fifteen years and his love of books. 

Then he went fishing with a certain jovial gentle- 
man from the West; and though they seldom caught 
any thing but colds, they had great fun and exercise 
chasing the phantom trout they were bound to have. 
Mac also developed a geological mania, and went 
tapping about at rocks and stones, discoursing wisely 
of “strata, periods, and fossil remains;” while Rose 
picked up leaves and lichens, and gave him lessons 
in botany, in return for his lectures on geology. 

They led a very merry life ; for the Atkinson girls 
kept up a sort of perpetual picnic ; and did it so capi- 
tally, that one was never tired of it. So their visitors 
throve finely, and long before the month was out it 
was evident that Dr. Alec had prescribed the right 
medicine for his patients. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


A HAPPY BIRTHDAY. 

HE twelfth of October was Rose’s birthday, but 



A. no one seemed to remember that interesting 
fact, and she felt delicate about mentioning it, so fell 
asleep the night before wondering if she would have 
any presents. That question was settled early the 
next morning, for she was awakened by a soft tap 
on her face, and opening her eyes she beheld a little 
black and white figure sitting on her pillow, staring 
at her with a pair of round eyes very like blueberries, 
while one downy paw patted her nose to attract her 
notice. It was Kitty Comet, the prettiest of all the 
pussies, and Comet evidently had a mission to per- 
form, for a pink bow adorned her neck, and a bit of 
paper was pinned to it bearing the words, “ For Miss 
Rose, from Frank.” 

That pleased her extremely, and that was only the 
beginning of the fun, for surprises and presents kept 
popping out in the most delightful manner all through 
the day, the Atkinson girls being famous jokers and 
Rose a favorite. But the best gift of all came on the 
way to Mount Windy-top, where it was decided to 
picnic in honor of the great occasion. Three jolly 


150 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


loads set off soon after breakfast, for everybody went, 
and everybody seemed bound to have an extra good 
time, especially Mother Atkinson, who wore a hat as 
broad-brimmed as an umbrella, and took the dinner- 
horn to keep her flock from straying away. 

“ I ’m going to drive aunty and a lot of the babies, 
so you must ride the pony. And please stay behind 
us a good bit when we go to the station, for a parcel 
is coming, and you are not to see it till dinner-time. 
You won’t mind, will you?” said Mac in a confi- 
dential aside during the wild flurry of the start. 

“Not a bit,” answered Rose. “It hurts my feel- 
ings very much to be told to keep out of the way 
at any other time, but birthdays and Christmas it is 
part of the fun to be blind and stupid, and poked 
into corners. I ’ll be ready as soon as you are, Gig- 
lamps.” 

“ Stop under the big maple till I call, — then you 
can’t possibly see any thing,” added Mac, as he 
mounted her on the pony his father had sent up for 
his use. “ Barkis ” was so gentle and so “ willin,” 
however, that Rose was ashamed to be afraid to ride 
him ; so she had learned, that she might surprise Dr. 
Alec when she got home ; meantime she had many a 
fine canter “ over the hills and far away ” with Mac, 
who preferred Mr. Atkinson’s old Sorrel. 

Away they went, and, coming to the red maple, 
Rose obediently paused ; but could not help stealing 
a glance in the forbidden direction before the call 
came. Yes, there was a hamper going under the 
seat, and then she caught sight of a tall man whom 
Mac seemed to be hustling into the carriage in a great 



“ Now I ’ll astonish uncle,” she thought. “ I ’ll dash 
up in grand style, and show him that I am not ft 
coward, after all.” 


A HAPPY BIRTHDAY. 151 

hurry. One look was enough, and, with a cry of de- 
light, Rose was off down the road as fast as Barkis 


“WHICH CAU8ED BARKIS TO SHY.” 



152 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


Fired by this ambition, she startled Barkis by a sharp 
cut, and still more bewildered him by leaving him to 
his own guidance down the steep, stony road. The 
approach would have been a fine success if, just as 
Rose was about to pull up and salute, two or three 
distracted hens had not scuttled across the road with 
a great squawking, which caused Barkis to shy and 
stop so suddenly that his careless rider landed in an 
ignominious heap just under old Sorrel’s astonished 
nose. 

Rose was up again before Dr. Alec was out of the 
carryall, and threw two dusty arms about his neck, 
crying with a breathless voice, — 

“ O uncle, I ’m so glad to see you ! It is better 
than a cart-load of goodies, and so dear of you to 
come ! ” 

“ But are n’t you hurt, child ? That was a rough 
tumble, and I’m afraid you must be damaged some- 
where,” answered the Doctor, full of fond anxiety, as 
he surveyed his girl with pride. 

“My feelings are hurt, but my bones are all safe. 
It ’s too bad ! I was going to do it so nicely, and those 
stupid hens spoilt it all,” said Rose, quite crest-fallen, 
as well as much shaken. 

“ I could n’t believe my eyes when I asked ‘ Where 
is Rose ? ’ and Mac pointed to the little Amazon pelt- 
ing down the hill at such a rate. You could n’t have 
done any thing that would please me more, and I ’m 
delighted to see how well you ride. Now, will you 
mount again, or shall we turn Mac out and take you 
in?” asked Dr. Alec, as Aunt Jessie proposed a start, 
for the others were beckoning them to follow. 


A HAPPY BIRTHDAY. 


153 


“ Pride goeth before a fall, — better not try to show 
off again, ma’am,” said Mac, who would have been 
more than mortal if he had refrained from teasing 
when so good a chance offered. 

“Pride does go before a fall, but I wonder if a 
sprained ankle always comes after it ? ” thought Rose, 
bravely concealing her pain, as she answered, with 
great dignity, — 

“ I prefer to ride. Come on, and see who will catch 
up first.” 

She was up and away as she spoke, doing her best 
to efface the memory of her downfall by sitting very 
erect, elbows down, head well up, and taking the mo- 
tion of the pony as Barkis cantered along as easily as 
a rocking-chair. 

“You ought to see her go over a fence and race 
when we ride together. She can scud, too, like a deer 
when we play ‘ Follow the leader,’ and skip stones and 
bat balls almost as well as I can,” said Mac, in reply 
to his uncle’s praise of his pupil. 

“ I ’m afraid you will think her a sad tomboy, Alec ; 
but really she seems so well and happy, I have not 
the heart to check her. She has broken out in the 
most unexpected way, and frisks like a colt ; for she 
says she feels so full of spirits she must run and shout 
whether it is proper or not,” added Mrs. Jessie, who 
had been a pretty hoyden years ago herself. 

“ Good, — good ! that ’s the best news you could tell 
me ; ” and Dr. Alec rubbed his hands heartily. “ Let 
the girl run and shout as much as she will, — it is a 
sure sign of health, and as natural to a happy child as 
frisking is to any young animal full of life. Tomboys 
7 * 


154 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


make strong women usually, and I had far rather find 
Rose playing foot-ball with Mac than puttering over 
bead-work like that affected midget, Ariadne Blish.” 

“ But she cannot go on playing foot-ball very long ; 
and we must not forget that she has a woman’s work 
to do by and by,” began Mrs. Jessie. 

“ Neither will Mac play foot-ball much longer, but 
he will be all the better fitted for business, because of 
the health it gives him. Polish is easily added, if the 
foundations are strong ; but no amount of gilding will 
be of use if your timber is not sound. I ’m sure I ’m 
right, Jessie ; and if I can do as well by my girl dur- 
ing the next six months as I have the last, my experi- 
ment will succeed.” 

“ It certainly will ; for when I contrast that bright, 
blooming face with the pale, listless one that made my 
heart ache a while ago, I can believe in almost any 
miracle,” said Mrs. Jessie, as Rose looked round to 
point out a lovely view, with cheeks like the ruddy 
apples in the orchard near by, eyes clear as the autumn 
sky overhead, and vigor in every line of her girlish 
figure. 

A general scramble among the rocks was followed" 
by a regular gypsy lunch, which the young folks had 
the rapture of helping to prepare. Mother Atkinson 
put on her apron, turned up her sleeves, and fell to 
work as gayly as if in her own kitchen, boiling the 
kettle slung on three sticks over a fire of cones and 
fir-boughs ; while the girls spread the mossy table with 
a feast of country goodies, and the children tumbled 
about in every one’s way till the toot of the horn made 
them settle down like a flock of hungry birds. 


A HAPPY BIRTHDAY. 


155 


As soon as the merry meal and a brief interval of 
repose were over, it was unanimously voted to have 
some charades. A smooth, green spot between two 
stately pines was chosen for the stage ; shawls hung 
up, properties collected, audience and actors separated, 
and a word quickly chosen. 

The first scene discovered Mac in a despondent 
attitude and shabby dress, evidently much troubled 
in mind. To him entered a remarkable creature with 
a brown-paper bag over its head. A little pink nose 
peeped through one hole in the middle, white teeth 
through another, and above two eyes glared fiercely. 
Spires of grass stuck in each side of the mouth seemed 
meant to represent whiskers ; the upper corners of the 
bag were twisted like ears, and no one could doubt 
for a moment that the black scarf pinned on behind 
was a tail. 

This singular animal seemed in pantomime to be 
comforting his master and offering advice, which was 
finally acted upon, for Mac pulled off his boots, helped 
the little beast into them, and gave him a bag ; then, 
kissing his paw with a hopeful gesture, the creature 
retired, purring so successfully that there was a general 
cry of “ Cat, puss, boots ! ” 

“ Cat is the word,” replied a voice, and the curtain 
fell. 

The next scene was a puzzler, for in came another 
animal, on all-fours this time, with a new sort of tail 
and long ears. A gray shawl concealed its face, but 
an inquisitive sunbeam betrayed the glitter as of gog- 
gles under the fringe. On its back rode a small gen- 
tleman in Eastern costume, who appeared to find some 


156 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


difficulty in keeping his seat as his steed jogged along. 
Suddenly a spirit appeared, all in white, with long 
newspaper wings upon its back and golden locks about 
its face. Singularly enough, the beast beheld this ap- 
parition and backed instantly, but the rider evidently 
saw nothing and whipped up unmercifully, also un- 
successfully, for the spirit stood directly in the path, 
and the amiable beast would not budge a foot. A 
lively skirmish followed, which ended in the Eastern 
gentleman’s being upset into a sweet-fern bush, while 
the better-bred animal abased itself before the shining 
one. 

The children were all in the dark till Mother Atkin- 
son said, in an inquiring tone, — 

“ If that is n’t Balaam and the ass, I ’d like to know 
what it is. Rose makes a sweet angel, don’t she ? ” 

“Ass” was evidently the word, and the angel re- 
tired, smiling with mundane satisfaction over the com- 
pliment that reached her ears. 

The next was a pretty little scene from the immortal 
story of “Babes in the Wood.” Jamie and Pokey 
came trotting in, hand-in-hand, and, having been 
through the parts many times before, acted with great 
ease and much fluency, audibly directing each other 
from time to time as they went along. The berries 
were picked, the way lost, tears shed, baby consolation 
administered, and then the little pair lay down among 
the brakes and died with their eyes wide open and the 
toes of their four little boots turned up to the daisies 
in the most pathetic manner. 

“ Now the wobins turn. You be twite dead, Pimmy, 
and I ’ll peep and see ’em,” one defunct innocent was 
heard to say. 


A HAPPY BIRTHDAY. 


157 


“ I hope they ’ll be quick, for I ’m lying on a stone, 
and ants are walking up my leg like fury,” murmured 
the other. 

Here the robins came flapping in with red scarfs 
over their breasts and leaves in their mouths, which 
they carefully laid upon the babes wherever they 
would show best. A prickly blackberry-leaf placed 
directly over Pokey’s nose caused her to sneeze so 
violently that her little legs flew into the air ; Jamie 
gave a startled “Ow!” and the pitying fowls fled 
giggling. 

After some discussion it was^ decided that the syl- 
lable must be “ strew or strow,” and then they waited 
to see if it was a good guess. 

This scene discovered Annette Snow in bed, evi- 
dently very ill ; Miss Jenny was her anxious mamma, 
and her merry conversation amused the audience till 
Mac came in as a physician, and made great fun with 
his big watch, pompous manner, and absurd questions. 
He prescribed one pellet with an unpronounceable 
name, and left after demanding twenty dollars for his 
brief visit. 

The pellet was administered, and such awful agonies 
immediately set in that the distracted mamma bade a 
sympathetic neighbor run for Mother Know-all. The 
neighbor ran, and in came a brisk little old lady in 
cap and specs, with a bundle of herbs under her arm, 
which she at once applied in all sorts of funny ways, 
explaining their virtues as she clapped a plantain 
poultice here, put a pounded catnip plaster there, or 
tied a couple of mullein leaves round the sufferer’s 
throat. Instant relief ensued, the dying child sat up 


158 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


and demanded baked beans, the grateful parent offered 
fifty dollars; but Mother Know-all indignantly refused 
it and went smiling away, declaring that a neighborly 
turn needed no reward, and a doctor’s fee was all a 
humbug. 

The audience were in fits of laughter over this scene, 
for Rose imitated Mrs. Atkinson capitally, and the 
herb-cure was a good hit at the excellent lady’s belief 
that “ yarbs ” would save mankind if properly applied. 
No one enjoyed it more than herself, and the saucy 
children prepared for the grand finale in high feather. 

This closing scene was brief but striking, for two 
trains of cars whizzed in from opposite sides, met with 
a terrible collision in the middle of the stage, and a 
general smash-up completed the word catastrophe. 

“ Now let us act a proverb. I ’ve got one all ready,” 
said Rose, who was dying to distinguish herself in 
some way before Uncle Alec. 

So every one but Mac, the gay Westerner, and 
Rose, took their places on the rocky seats and dis- 
cussed the late beautiful and varied charade, in which 
Pokey frankly pronounced her own scene the “ bestest 
of all.” 

In five minutes the curtain was lifted ; nothing ap- 
peared but a very large sheet of brown paper pinned 
to a tree, and on it was drawn a clock-face, the hands 
pointing to four. A small note below informed the 
public that 4 a.m. was the time. Hardly had the 
audience grasped this important fact when a long 
water-proof serpent was seen uncoiling itself from 
behind a stump. An inch-worm, perhaps, would be a 
better description, for it travelled in the same humpy 


A HAPPY BIRTHDAY. 


159 


way as that pleasing reptile. Suddenly a very wide- 
awake and active fowl advanced, pecking, chirping, 
and scratching vigorously. A tuft of green leaves 
waved upon his crest, a larger tuft of brakes made an 
umbrageous tail, and a shawl of many colors formed 
his flapping wings. A truly noble bird, whose legs 
had the genuine strut, whose eyes shone watchfully, 
and whose voice had a ring that evidently struck ter- 
ror into the caterpillar’s soul, if it was a caterpillar. 
He squirmed, he wriggled, he humped as fast as he 
could, trying to escape ; but all in vain. The tufted 
bird espied him, gave one warbling sort of crow, 
pounced upon him, and flapped triumphantly away. 

“That early bird got such a big worm he could 
hardly carry him off,” laughed Aunt Jessie, as the 
children shouted over the joke suggested by Mac’s 
nickname. 

“ That is one of uncle’s favorite proverbs, so I got 
it up for his especial benefit,” said Rose, coming up 
with the two-legged worm beside her. 

“Very clever; what next?” asked Dr. Alec as she 
sat down beside him. 

“ The Dove boys are going to give us an 4 Incident 
in the Life of Napoleon,’ as they call it ; the children 
think it very splendid, and the little fellows do it rather 
nicely,” answered Mac with condescension. 

A tent appeared, and pacing to and fro before it 
was a little sentinel, who, in a brief soliloquy, informed 
the observers that the elements were in a great state 
of confusion, that he had marched some hundred miles 
or so that day, and that he was dying for want of sleep. 
Then he paused, leaned upon his gun, and seemed to 


160 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


doze ; dropped slowly down, overpowered with slum- 
ber, and finally lay flat, with his gun beside him, a 
faithless little sentinel. Enter Napoleon, cocked hat, 
gray coat, high boots, folded arms, grim mouth, and a 
melodramatic stride. Freddy Dove always covered 
himself with glory in this part, and “ took the stage ” 
iwith a Napoleonic attitude that brought down the 
house ; for the big-headed boy, with solemn, dark eyes 
and square brow, was “ the very moral of that rascal, 
Boneyparty,” Mother Atkinson said. 

Some great scheme was evidently brewing in his 
mighty mind, — a trip across the Alps, a bonfire at 
Moscow, or a little skirmish at Waterloo, perhaps, for 
he marched in silent majesty till suddenly a gentle 
snore disturbed the imperial reverie. He saw the 
sleeping soldier and glared upon him, saying in an 
awful tone, — 

“Ha! asleep at his post! Death is the penalty, — 
he must die!” 

Picking up the musket, he is about to execute sum- 
mary justice, as emperors are in the habit of doing, 
when something in the face of the weary sentinel 
appears to touch him. And well it might, for a most 
engaging little warrior was Jack as he lay with his 
shako half off, his childish face trying to keep sober, 
and a great black moustache over his rosy mouth. 
It would have softened the heart of any Napoleon, 
and the Little Corporal proved himself a man by 
relenting, and saying, with a lofty gesture of forgive- 
ness, — 

“ Brave fellow, he is worn out ; I will let him sleep, 
and mount guard in his place.” 


A HAPPY BIRTHDAY. 


161 


Then, shouldering the gun, this noble being strode 
to and fro with a dignity which thrilled the younger 
spectators. The sentinel awakes, sees what has hap- 
pened, and gives himself up for lost. But the Emperor 
restores his weapon, and, with that smile which won 
all hearts, says, pointing to a high rock whereon a 
crow happens to be sitting : “ Be brave, be vigilant, 
and remember that from yonder Pyramid generations 
are beholding you,” and with these memorable words 
he vanishes, leaving the grateful soldier bolt upright, 
with his hand at his temple and deathless devotion 
stamped upon his youthful countenance. 

The applause which followed this superb piece had 
hardly subsided, when a sudden splash and a shrill 
cry caused a general rush toward the waterfall that 
went gambolling down the rocks, singing sweetly as 
it ran. Pokey had tried to gambol also, and had 
tumbled into a shallow pool, whither Jamie had 
gallantly followed, in a vain attempt to fish her out, 
and both were paddling about half frightened, half 
pleased with the unexpected bath. 

This mishap made it necessary to get the dripping 
infants home as soon as possible ; so the wagons were 
loaded up, and away they went, as merry as if the 
mountain air had really been “ Oxygenated Sweets 
not Bitters,” as Dr. Alec suggested when Mac said 
he felt as jolly as if he had been drinking champagne 
instead of the currant wine that came with a great 
frosted cake wreathed with sugar rosetf in Aunt 
Plenty’s hamper of goodies. 

Rose took part in all the fun, and never betrayed 
by look or word the twinges of pain she suffered in 


162 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


her ankle. She excused herself from the games in the 
evening, however, and sat talking to Uncle Alec in a 
lively way, that both amazed and delighted him ; for 
she confided to him that she played horse with the 
children, drilled with the light infantry, climbed trees, 
and did other dreadful things that would have caused 
the aunts to cry aloud if they knew of them. 

“I don’t care a pin what they say if you don’t 
mind, uncle,” she answered, when he pictured the 
dismay of the good ladies. 

“ Ah, it ’s all very well to defy them, but you are 
getting so rampant, I’m afraid you will defy me 
next, and then where are we?” 

“ No, I won’t ! I should n’t dare ; because you are 
my guardian, and can put me in a strait-jacket if 
you like;” and Rose laughed in his face, even while 
she nestled closer wjth a confiding gesture pleasant to 
see. 

“Upon my word, Rosy, I begin to feel like the 
man who bought an elephant, and then didn’t know 
what to do with him. I thought I had got a pet and 
plaything for years to come ; but here you are grow- 
ing up like a bean-stalk, and I shall find I ’ve got a 
strong-minded little woman on my hands before I can 
turn round. There ’s a predicament for a man and 
an uncle!” 

Dr. Alec’s comic distress was mercifully relieved for 
the time being by a dance of goblins on the lawn, 
where the child renf with pumpkin lanterns on their 
heads, frisked about like will-o’-the-wisps, as a parting 
surprise. 

When Rose went to bed, she found that Uncle 


A HAPPY BIRTHDAY. 


163 


Alec had not forgotten her; for on the table stood 
a delicate little easel, holding two miniatures set in 
velvet. She knew them both, and stood looking at 
them till her eyes brimmed over with tears that were 
both sweet and sad ; for they were the faces of hei- 
father and mother, beautifully copied from portraits 
fast fading away. 

Presently she knelt down, and, putting her arms 
round the little shrine, kissed one after the other, 
saying with an earnest voice, “ I ’ll truly try to make 
them glad to see me by and by.” 

And that was Rose’s little prayer on the night of 
her fourteenth birthday. 

Two days later, the Campbells went home, a larger 
party than when they came ; for Dr. Alec was escort, 
and Kitty Comet was borne in state in a basket, with 
a bottle of milk, some tiny sandwiches, and a doll’s 
dish to drink out of, as well as a bit of carpet to lie 
on in her palace car, out of which she kept popping 
her head in the most fascinating manner. 

There was a great kissing and cuddling, waving 
of handkerchiefs, and last good-bys, as they went; 
and when they had started, Mother Atkinson came 
running after them, to tuck in some little pies, hot 
from the oven, “ for the dears, who might get tired 
of bread and butter during that long day’s travel.” 

Another start, and another halt ; for the Snow 
children came shrieking up to demand the three 
kittens that Pokey was coolly carrying off in a 
travelling-bag. The unhappy kits were rescued, half 
smothered, and restored to their lawful owners, amid 
dire lamentation from the little kidnapper, who de- 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


164 

dared that she only “ tooked um ’cause they ’d want 
to go wid their sister Tomit.” 

Start number three and stoppage number three, 
as Frank hailed them with the luncheon-basket, which 
had been forgotten, after every one had protested 
that it was safely in. 

All went well after that, and the long journey was 
pleasantly beguiled by Pokey and Pussy, who played 
together so prettily that they were considered public 
benefactors. 

“ Rose does n’t want to go home, for she knows the 
aunts won’t let her rampage as she did up at Cosey 
Corner,” said Mac, as they approached the old house. 

“ I can't rampage if I want to, — for a time, at 
least ; and I ’ll tell you why. I sprained my ankle 
when I tumbled off of Barkis, and it gets worse and 
worse; though I’ve done all I know to cure it and 
hide it, so it shouldn’t trouble any one,” whispered 
Rose, knitting her brows with pain, as she prepared 
to descend, wishing her uncle would take her instead 
of her bundles. 

How he did it, she never knew; but Mac had her 
up the steps and on the parlor sofa before she could 
put her foot to the ground. 

“There you are, — right side up with care; and 
mind, now, if your ankle bothers you, and you are 
laid up with it, I am to be your footman. It ’s only 
fair, you know; for I don’t forget how good you 
have been to me.” And Mac went to call Phebe, 
so full of gratitude and good-will that his very 
goggles shone. 


CHAPTER XV. 

J^LR-RINGS. 


R OSE’S sprain proved to be a serious one, owing 
to neglect, and Dr. Alec ordered her to lie on 
the sofa for a fortnight at least ; whereat she groaned 
dismally, but dared not openly complain, lest the 
boys turn upon her with some of the wise little 
sermons on patience which she had delivered for 
their benefit. 

It was Mac’s turn now, and honorably did he re- 
pay his debt; for, as school was still forbidden, he 
had plenty of leisure, and devoted most of it to Rose. 
He took many steps for her, and even allowed her to 
teach him to knit, after assuring himself that many 
a brave Scotchman knew how to “click the pricks.” 
She was obliged to take a solemn vow of secrecy, 
however, before he would consent ; for, though he 
did not mind being called “Giglamps,” “Granny” 
was more than his boyish soul could bear, and at the 
approach of any of the clan his knitting vanished as 
if by magic, which frequent “ chucking ” out of sight 
did not improve the stripe he was doing for Rose’s 
new afghan. 

She was busy with this pretty work one bright 


166 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


October afternoon, all nicely established on her sofa 
in the upper hall, while Jamie and Pokey (lent for 
her amusement) were keeping house in a corner, with 
Comet and Rose’s old doll for their “ childerns.” 

Presently, Phebe appeared with a card. Rose read 
it, made a grimace, then laughed and said, — 

“I’ll see Miss Bliss,” and immediately put on her 
company face, pulled out her locket, and settled her 
curls. 

“You dear thing, how do you do? I’ve been 
trying to call every day since you got back, but I have 
so many engagements, I really couldn’t manage it 
till to-day. So glad you are alone, for mamma said 
I could sit awhile, and I brought my lace-work to 
show you, for it ’s perfectly lovely,” cried Miss Bliss, 
greeting Rose with a kiss, which was not very warmly 
returned, though Rose politely thanked her for com- 
ing, and bid Phebe roll up the easy chair. 

“ How nice to have a maid ! ” said Annabel, as she 
settled herself with much commotion. “Still, dear, 
you must be very lonely, and feel the need of a bosom 
friend.” 

“ I have my cousins,” began Rose, with dignity, for 
her visitor’s patronizing manner ruffled her temper. 

“ Gracious, child ! you don’t make friends of those , 
great boys, do you ? Mamma says she really does n’t 
think it ’s proper for you to be with them so much.” 

“They are like brothers, and my aunts do think 
it ’s proper,” replied Rose, rather sharply, for it struck 
her that this was none of Miss Bliss’s business. 

“ I was merely going to say I should be glad to 
have you for my bosom friend, for Hatty Mason and 


EAR-RINGS. 


167 


I have had an awful quarrel, and don’t speak. She is 
too mean to live, so I gave her up. Just think, she 
never paid back one of the caramels I’ve given her, 
and never invited me to her party. I could have 
forgiven the caramels, but to be left out in that rude 
way was more than I could bear, and I told her never 
to look at me again as long as she lived.” 

“You are very kind, but I don’t think I want a 
bosom friend, thank you,” said Rose, as Annabel 
stopped to bridle and shake her flaxen head over the 
delinquent Hatty Mason. 

Now, in her heart Miss Bliss thought Rose “a 
stuck-up puss,” but the other girls wanted to know 
her and could n’t, the old house was a charming place 
to visit, the lads were considered fine fellows, and the 
Campbells “are one of our first families,” mamma 
said. So Annabel concealed her vexation at Rose’s 
coolness, and changed the subject as fast as possible. 

“Studying French, I see; who is your teacher?” 
she asked, flirting over the leaves of “ Paul and 
Virginia,” that lay on the table. 

“I don’t study it, for I read French as well as 
English, and uncle and I often speak it for hours. 
He talks like a native, and says I have a remarkably 
good accent.” 

Rose really could not help this small display of 
superiority, for French was one of her strong points, 
and she was vain of it, though she usually managed 
to hide this weakness. She felt that Annabel would 
be the better for a little crushing, and could not resist 
the temptation to patronize in her turn. 

“ Oh, indeed ! ” said Miss Bliss, rather blankly, for 
French was not her strong point by any means. 


168 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“I am to go abroad with uncle in a year or two, 
and he knows how important it is to understand the 
languages. Half the girls who leave school can’t 
speak decent French, and when they go abroad they 
are so mortified. I shall be very glad to help you, 
if you like, for of course you have no one to talk with 
at home.” 

Now Annabel, though she looked like a wax doll, 
had feelings within her instead of sawdust, and these 
feelings were hurt by Rose’s lofty tone. She thought 
her more “ stuck up ” than ever, but did not know 
how to bring her down, yet longed to do it, for she 
felt as if she had received a box on the ear, and in- 
voluntarily put her hand up to it. The touch of an 
ear-ring consoled her, and suggested a way of return- 
ing tit for tat in a telling manner. 

“ Thank you, dear ; I don’t need any help, for our 
teacher is from Paris, and of course he speaks better 
French than your uncle.” Then she added, with a 
gesture of her head that set the little bells on her 
ears to tingling : “ How do you like my new ear-rings ? 
Papa gave them to me last week, and every one says 
they are lovely.” 

Rose came down from her high horse with a 
rapidity that was comical, for Annabel had the upper 
hand now. Rose adored pretty things, longed to 
wear them, and the desire of her girlish soul was to 
have her ears bored, only Dr. Alec thought it fool- 
ish, so she never had done it. She would gladly have 
given all the French she could jabber for a pair of 
golden bells with pearl-tipped tongues, like those 
Annabel wore ; and, clasping her hands, she answered, 
in a tone that went to the hearer’s heart, — 


EAR-RINGS . 


169 


“They are too sweet for any thing! If uncle 
would only let me wear some, I should be perfectly 
happy.” 

“I wouldn’t mind what he says. Papa laughed 
at me at first, but he likes them now, and says I shall 
have diamond solitaires when I am eighteen,” said 
Annabel, quite satisfied with her shot. 

“I’ve got a pair now that were mamma’s, and a 
beautiful little pair of pearl and turquoise ones, that 
I am dying to wear,” sighed Rose. 

“ Then do it. I ’ll pierce your ears, and you must 
wear a bit of silk in them till they are well ; your curls 
will hide them nicely ; then, some day, slip in your 
smallest ear-rings, and see if your uncle don’t like 
them.” 

“ I asked him if it would n’t do my eyes good once 
when they were red, and he only laughed. People do 
cure weak eyes that way, don’t they ? ” 

“Yes, indeed, and yours are sort of red. Let me 
see. Yes, I really think you ought to do it before 
they get worse,” said Annabel, peering into the large 
clear eye offered for inspection. 

“ Does it hurt much ? ” asked Rose, wavering. 

“Oh dear, no! just a prick and a pull, and it’s all 
over. I’ve done lots of ears, and know just how. 
Come, push up your hair and get a big needle.” 

“ I don’t quite like to do it without asking uncle’s 
leave,” faltered Rose, when all was ready for the oper- 
ation. 

“ Did he ever forbid it ? ” demanded Annabel hov- 
ering over her prey like a vampire. 

“ No, never ! ” 

8 


170 


tUGHT COUSX&& 



^PirnrHl” said Rose, in the tone of one giving the order “Fire I w 



EAR-RINGS. 


17 1 


“Then do it, unless you are afraid ,” cried Miss 
Bliss, bent on accomplishing the deed. 

That last word settled the matter, and, closing her 
eyes, Rose said “ Punch ! ” in the tone of one giving 
the fatal order “ Fire ! ” 

Annabel punched, and the victim bore it in heroic 
silence, though she turned pale and her eyes were full 
of tears of anguish. 

“ There ! Now pull the bits of silk often, and cold- 
cream your ears every night, and you ’ll soon be ready 
for the rings,” said Annabel, well pleased with her job, 
for the girl who spoke French with “ a fine accent ” 
lay flat upon the sofa, looking as exhausted as if she 
had had both ears cut off. 

“ It does hurt dreadfully, and I know uncle won’t 
like it,” sighed Rose, as remorse began to gnaw. 
“ Promise not to tell, or I shall be teased to death,” she 
added, anxiously, entirely forgetting the two little 
pitchers gifted with eyes as well as ears, who had been 
watching the whole performance from afar. 

“Never. Mercy me, what ’s that?” and Annabel 
started as a sudden sound of steps and voices came up 
from below. 

“It’s the boys! Hide the needle. Do my ears 
show? Don’t breathe a word!” whispered Rose, 
scrambling about to conceal all traces of their iniquity 
from the sharp eyes of the clan. 

Up they came, all in good order, laden with the pro- 
ceeds of a nutting expedition, for they always reported 
to Rose and paid tribute to their queen in the hand- 
somest manner. 

“How many, and how big! We’ll have a grand 


172 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


roasting frolic after tea, won’t we?” said Rose, plung- 
ing both hands into a bag of glossy brown nuts, while 
the clan “ stood at ease ” and nodded to Annabel. 

“ That lot was picked especially for you, Rosy. I 
got every one myself, and they are extra whackers,” 
said Mac, presenting a bushel or so. 

“ You should have seen Giglamps when he was after 
them. He pitched out of the tree, and would have 
broken his blessed old neck if Arch had not caught 
him,” observed Steve, as he lounged gracefully in the 
window seat. 

“You needn’t talk, Dandy, when you didn’t know 
a chestnut from a beech, and kept on thrashing till I 
told you of it,” retorted Mac, festooning himself over 
the back of the sofa, being a privileged boy. 

“I don’t make mistakes when I thrash you, old 
Worm, so you’d better mind what you are about,” an- 
swered Steve, without a ray of proper respect for his 
elder brother. 

“ It is getting dark, and I must go, or mamma will 
be alarmed,” said Annabel rising in sudden haste, 
though she hoped to be asked to remain to the nut- 
party. 

Ho one invited her ; and all the while she was put- 
ting on her things and chatting to Rose the boys were 
telegraphing to one another the sad fact that some one 
ought to escort the young lady home. Not a boy felt 
heroic enough to cast himself into the breach, however ; 
even polite Archie shirked the duty, saying to Charlie, 
as they quietly slipped into an adjoining room, — 

“I’m not going to do all the gallivanting. Let 
Steve take that chit home and show his manners.” 


EAR-RINCS. 


173 


“ I ’ll be hanged if I do ! ” answered Prince, who dis- 
liked Miss Bliss because she tried to be coquettish with 
him. 

“ Then I will,” and, to the dismay of both recreant 
lads, Dr. Alec walked out of the room to offer his ser- 
vices to the “ chit.” 

He was too late, however, for Mac, obeying a look 
from Rose, had already made a victim of himself, and 
trudged meekly away, wishing the gentle Annabel at 
the bottom of the Red Sea. 

“ Then I will take this lady down to tea, as the other 
one has found a gentleman to go home with her. I see 
the lamps are lighted below, and I smell a smell which 
tells me that aunty has something extra nice for us 
to-night.” 

As he spoke, Dr. Alec was preparing to carry Rose 
downstairs as usual ; but Archie and Prince rushed 
forward, begging with penitent eagerness for the honor 
of carrying her in an arm-chair. Rose consented, fear- 
ing that her uncle’s keen eye would discover the fatal 
bits of silk ; so the boys crossed hands, and, taking a 
good grip of each curly pate, she was borne down in 
state, while the others followed by way of the banis- 
ters. 

Tea was ordered earlier than usual, so that Jamie 
and his dolly could have a taste, at least, of the holi- 
day fun, for they were to stay till seven, and be al- 
lowed twelve roasted chestnuts apiece, which they were 
under bonds not to eat till next day. 

Tea was despatched rapidly, therefore, and the party 
gathered round the wide hearth in the dining-room, 
where the nuts were soon dancing gayly on hot shov- 


174 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


els or bouncing out among the company, thereby caus- 
ing delightful panics among the little ones. 

“ Come, Rosy, tell us a story while we work, for you 
can’t help much, and must amuse us as your share,” 
proposed Mac, who sat in the shade pricking nuts, and 
who knew by experience what a capital little Scheher- 
azade his cousin was. 

“Yes, we poor monkeys can’t burn our paws for 
nothing, so tell away, Pussy,” added Charlie, as he 
threw several hot nuts into her lap and shook his fin- 
gers afterward. 

“ Well, I happen to have a little story with a moral 
to it in my mind, and I will tell it, though it is in- 
tended for younger children than you,” answered Rose, 
who was rather fond of telling instructive tales. 

“ Fire away,” said Geordie, and she obeyed, little 
thinking what a disastrous story it would prove to her- 
self. 

“Well, once upon a time, a little girl went to see a 
young lady who was very fond of her. Now, the young 
lady happened to be lame, and had to have her foot 
bandaged up every day ; so she kept a basketful of 
bandages, all nicely rolled and ready. The little girl 
liked to play with this basket, and one day, when she 
thought no one saw her, she took one of the rolls with- 
out asking leave, and put it in her pocket.” 

Here Pokey, who had been peering lovingly down 
at the five warm nuts that lay at the bottom of her 
tiny pocket, suddenly looked up and said, “ Oh ! ” in a 
startled tone, as if the moral tale had become intensely 
interesting all at once. 

Rose heard and saw the innocent betrayal of the 


EAR-RINGS. 


175 


small sinner, and went on in a most impressive man- 
ner, while the boys nudged one another and winked as 
they caught the joke. 

“But an eye did see this naughty little girl, and 
whose eye do you think it was ? ” 

“ Eye of Dod,” murmured conscience-stricken Pokey, 
spreading two chubby little hands before the round 
face, which they were not half big enough to hide. 

Rose was rather taken aback by this reply, but, 
feeling that she was producing a good effect, she 
added, seriously, — 

“ Yes, God saw her, and so did the young lady, but 
she did not say any thing; she waited to see what the 
little girl would do about it. She had been very 
happy before she took the bandage, but when it was 
in her pocket she seemed troubled, and pretty soon 
stopped playing and sat down in a comer, looking 
very sober. She thought a few minutes, and then 
went and put back the roll very softly, and her face 
cleared up, and she was a happy child again. The 
young lady was glad to see that, and wondered what 
made the little girl put it back.” 

“ Tonscience p’icked her,” murmured a contrite 
voice from behind the small hands pressed tightly 
over Pokey’s red face. 

“And why. did she take it, do you suppose?” 
asked Rose, in a school-marmish tone, feeling that 
all the listeners were interested in her tale and its 
unexpected application. 

“ It was so nice and wound, and she wanted it 
deffly,” answered the little voice. 

“Well, I’m glad she had such a good coqscience. 


176 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


The moral is that people who steal don’t enjoy what 
they take, and are not happy till they put it back. 
What makes that little girl hide her face?” asked 
Rose, as she concluded. 

« Me ’s so ’shamed of Pokey,” sobbed the small 
culprit, quite overcome by remorse and confusion at 
this awful disclosure. 

“ Come, Rose, it’s too bad to tell her little tricks 
before every one, and preach at her in that way ; 
you wouldn’t like it yourself,” began Dr. Alec, tak- 
ing the weeper on his knee and administering conso- 
lation in the shape of kisses and nuts. 

Before Rose could express her regret, Jamie, who 
had been reddening and ruffling like a little turkey- 
cock for several minutes, burst out indignantly, bent 
on avenging the wound given to his beloved dolly. 

“ I know something bad that you did, and I’m 
going to tell right out. You thought we didn’t see 
you, but we did, and you said uncle would n’t like it, 
and the boys would tease, and you made Annabel 
promise not to tell, and she punched holes in your 
ears to put ear-rings in. So now ! and that ’s much 
badder than to take an old piece of rag ; and I hate 
you for making my Pokey cry.” 

Jamie’s somewhat incoherent explosion produced 
such an effect that Pokey’s small sin was instantly 
forgotten, and Rose felt that her hour had come. 

“ What ! w T hat ! what ! ” cried the boys in a chorus, 
dropping their shovels and knives to gather round 
Rose, for a guilty clutching at her ears betrayed her, 
and with a feeble cry of “ Annabel made me ! ” she 
hid her head among the pillows like an absurd little 
ostrich. 


EAR-RINGS. 


177 


4t JN ow she ’ll go prancing round with bird-cages 
and baskets and carts and pigs, for all I know, in 
her ears, as the other girls do, and won’t she look 
like a goose ? ” asked one tormentor, tweaking a curl 
that strayed out from the cushions. 

“ I did n’t think she ’d be so silly,” said Mac, in a 
tone of disappointment that told Rose she had sunk 
in the esteem of her wise cousin. 

“ That Bliss girl is a nuisance, and ought not to be 
allowed to come here with her nonsensical notions,” 
said the Prince, feeling a strong desire to shake that 
young person as an angry dog might shake a mis- 
chievous kitten. 

“ How do you like it, uncle ? ” asked Archie, who, 
being the head of a family himself, believed in pre- 
serving discipline at all costs. 

“ I am very much surprised ; but I see she is a 
girl, after all, and must have her vanities like all the 
rest of them,” answered Dr. Alec, with a sigh, as if 
he had expected to find Rose a sort of angel, above 
all earthly temptation. 

“What shall you do about it, sir?” inquired 
Geordie, wondering what punishment would be in- 
flicted on a feminine culprit. 

“As she is fond of ornaments, perhaps we had 
better give her a nose-ring also. I have one some- 
where that a Fiji belle once wore; I’ll look it up,” 
and, leaving Pokey to Jamie’s care, Dr. Alec rose 
as if to carry out his suggestion in earnest. 

“Good! good! We’ll do it right away! Here’s 
a gimlet, so you hold her, boys, while I get her dear 
little nose all ready,” cried Charlie, whisking away 
8 * 


L 


178 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


the pillows as the other boys danced about the soia 
in true Fiji style. 

It was a dreadful moment, for Rose could not run 
away, — she could only grasp her precious nose with 
one hand and extend the other, crying distractedly, — 

“ O uncle, save me, save me ! ” 

Of course he saved her ; and when she was securely 
barricaded by his strong arm, she confessed her folly 
in such humiliation of spirit that the lads, after a 
good laugh at her, decided to forgive hfcr and lay 
all the blame on the tempter, Annabel. Even Dr. 
Alec relented so far as to propose two gold rings 
for the ears instead of one copper one for the nose ; 
a proceeding which proved that if Rose had all the 
weakness of her sex for jewellery, he had all the in- 
consistency of his in giving a pretty penitent exactly 
what she wanted, spite of his better judgment. 


CHAPTER XVI. 

BREAD AND BUTTON-HOLES. 

“ X T 7HAT in the world is my girl thinking about 
V V all alone here, with such a solemn face ? ” 

asked Dr. Alec, coming into the study, one November 
day, to find Rose sitting there with folded hands and 
a very thoughtful aspect. 

“ Uncle, I want to have some serious conversation 
with you, if you have time,” she said, coming out of a 
brown study, as if she had not heard his question. 

“ I ’m entirely at your service, and most happy to 
listen,” he answered, in his politest manner, for when 
Rose put on her womanly little airs he always treated 
her with a playful sort of respect that pleased her very 
much. 

Now, as he sat down beside her, she said, very so- 
berly, — 

“I’ve been trying to decide what trade I would 
learn, and I want you to advise me.” 

“ Trade, my dear ? ” and Dr. Alec looked so aston- 
ished that she hastened to explain. 

“ I forgot that you did n’t hear the talk about it up 
at Cosey Corner. You see we used to sit under the 
nines and sew, and talk a great deal, — all the ladies, I 


180 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


mean, — and I liked it very much. Mother Atkinson 
thought that every one should have a trade, or some- 
thing to make a living out of, for rich people may grow 
poor, you know, and poor people have to work. Her 
girls were very clever, and could do ever so many 
things, and Aunt Jessie thought the old lady was 
right; so when I saw how happy and independent 
those young ladies were, I wanted to have a trade, and 
then it would n’t matter about money, though I like to 
have it well enough.” 

Dr. Alec listened to this explanation with a curious 
mixture of surprise, pleasure, and amusement in his 
face, and looked at his little niece as if she had sud- 
denly changed into a young woman. She had grown 
a good deal in the last six months, and an amount of 
thinking had gone on in that young head which would 
have astonished him greatly could he have known it 
all, for Rose was one of the children who observe and 
meditate much, and now and then nonplus their friends 
by a wise or curious remark. 

“ I quite agree with the ladies, and shall be glad to 
help you decide on something if I ca. V’ said the Doctor 
seriously. “ What do you incline to ? A natural taste 
or talent. is a great help in choosing, you know.” 

“ I have n’t any talent, or any especial taste that I 
can see, and that is why I can’t decide, uncle. So, I 
think it would be a good plan to pick out some very 
useful business and learn it, because I don’t do it for 
pleasure, you see, but as a part of my education, and 
to be ready in case I ’m ever poor,” answered Rose, 
looking as if she rather longed for a little poverty so 
that her useful gift might be exercised. 


BREAD AND BUTTON-HOLES. 


181 


“Well, now, there is one very excellent, necessary, 
and womanly accomplishment that no girl should be 
without, for it is a help to rich and poor, and the com- 
fort of families depends upon it. This fine talent is 
neglected nowadays, and considered old-fashioned, 
which is a sad mistake, and one that I don’t mean to 
make in bringing up my girl. It should be a part of 
every girl’s education, and I know of a most accom- 
plished lady who will teach you in the best and pleas- 
antest manner.” 

“ Oh, what is it ? ” cried Rose eagerly, charmed to 
be met in this helpful and cordial way. 

“ Housekeeping ! ” answered Dr. Alec. 

“Is that an accomplishment?” asked Rose, while 
her face fell, for she had indulged in all sorts of vague, 
delightful dreams. 

“ Yes ; it is one of the most beautiful as well as use- 
ful of all the arts a woman can learn. Not so roman- 
tic, perhaps, as singing, painting, writing, or teaching, 
even ; but one that makes many happy and comforta- 
ble, and home the sweetest place in the world. Yes, 
you may open your big eyes ; but it is a fact that I 
had rather see you a good housekeeper than the great- 
est belle in the city. It need not interfere with any 
talent you may possess, but it is a necessary part of 
your training, and I hope that you will set about it at 
once, now that you are well and strong.” 

« Who is the lady ? ” asked Rose, rather impressed 
by her uncle’s earnest speech. 

“ Aunt Plenty.” 

“ Is she accomplished ? ” began Rose in a wondering 
tone, for this great-aunt of hers had seemed the least 
cultivated of them all. 


182 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ In the good old-fashioned way she is very accom- 
plished, and has made this house a happy home to us 
all, ever since we can remember. She is not elegant, 
but genuinely good, and so beloved and respected that 
there will be universal mourning for her when her place 
is empty. No one can fill it, for the solid, homely 
virtues of the dear soul have gone out of fashion, as I 
say, and nothing new can be half so satisfactory, to me 
at least.” 

“ I should like to have people feel so about me. Can 
she teach me to do what she does, and to grow as 
good?” asked Rose, with a little prick of remorse for 
even thinking that Aunt Plenty was a commonplace 
old lady. 

“ Yes, if you don’t despise such simple lessons as she 
can give. I know it would fill her dear old heart with 
pride and pleasure to feel that any one cared to learn 
of her, for she fancies her day gone by. Let her teach 
you how to be what she has been, — a skilful, frugal, 
cheerful housewife; the maker and the keeper of a 
happy home, and by and by you will see what a val- 
uable lesson it is.” 

“ I will, uncle. But how shall I begin ?” 

“ 1 ’U speak to her about it, and she will make it all 
right with Dolly, for cooking is one of the main things, 
you know.” 

“ So it is ! I don’t mind that a bit, for I like to 
mess, and used to try at home ; but I had no one to 
tell me, so I never did much but spoil my aprons. 
Pies are great fun, only Dolly is 50 cross, I don’t 
believe she will ever let me do a thing in the kitchen.” 

“ Then we 11 cook in the parlor. I fancy Aunt 


BREAD AND BUTTON-HOLES. 


183 


Plenty will manage her, so don’t be troubled. Only 
mind this, I ’d rather you learned how to make good 
bread than the best pies ever baked. When you bring 
me a handsome, wholesome loaf, entirely made by your- 
self, I shall be more pleased than if you offered me a 
pair of slippers embroidered in the very latest style. 
I don’t wish to bribe you, but I ’ll give you my hearti- 
est kiss, and promise to eat every crumb of the loaf 
myself.” 

“ It ’s a bargain ! it ’s a bargain ! Come and tell 
aunty all about it, for I ’m in a hurry to begin,” cried 
Rose, dancing before him toward the parlor, where 
Miss Plenty sat alone knitting contentedly, yet ready 
to run at the first call for help of any sort, from any 
quarter. 

No need to tell how surprised and gratified she was 
at the invitation she received to teach the child the 
domestic arts which were her only accomplishments, 
nor to relate how energetically she set about her pleas- 
ant task. Dolly dared not grumble, for Miss Plenty 
was the one person whom she obeyed, and Phebe 
openly rejoiced, for these new lessons brought Rose 
nearer to her, and glorified the kitchen in the good 
girl’s eyes. 

To tell the truth, the elder aunts had sometimes felt 
that they did not have quite their share of the little 
niece, who had won their hearts long ago, and was the 
sunshine of the house. They talked it over together 
sometimes, but always ended by saying that as Alec 
had all the responsibility, he should have the larger 
share of the dear girl’s love and time, and they would 
be contented with such crumbs of comfort as they 
could get. 


184 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


Dr. Alec had found out this little secret, and, after 
reproaching himself for being blind and selfish, was 
trying to devise some way of mending matters with- 



(JNCLE ALEC COULD NOT RESIST PEEPING IN AT THE DOOR. — Page 185. 

out troubling any one, when Rose’s new whim sug- 
gested an excellent method of weaning her a little 
from himself. He did not know how fond he was 


BREAD AND BUTTON-HOLES. 


185 


of her till he gave her up to the new teacher, and 
often could not resist peeping in at the door, to see 
how she got on, or stealing sty looks through the 
slide when she was deep in dough, or listening in- 
tently to some impressive lecture from Aunt Plenty. 
They caught him at it now and then, and ordered 
him off the premises at the point of the rolling-pin; 
or, if unusually successful, and, therefore, in a milder 
mood, they lured him away with bribes of ginger- 
bread, a stray pickle, or a tart that was not quite 
symmetrical enough to suit their critical eyes. 

Of course he made a point of partaking copiously 
of all the delectable messes that now appeared at 
table, for both the cooks were on their mettle, and 
he fared sumptuously every day. But an especial 
relish was given to any dish when, in reply to his 
honest praise of it, Rose colored up with innocent 
pride, and said modestly, — 

“I made that, uncle, and I’m glad you like it.” 
It was some time before the perfect loaf appeared, 
for bread-making is an art not easily learned, and 
Aunt Plenty was very thorough in her teaching; 
so Rose studied yeast first, and through various stages 
of cake and biscuit came at last to the crowning glory 
of the “ handsome, wholesome loaf.” It appeared at 
tea-time, on a silver salver, proudly borne in by 
Phebe, who could not refrain from whispering, with 
a beaming face, as she set it down before Dr. Alec, — 

“ Ain’t it just lovely, sir? ” 

“It is a regularly splendid loaf! Did my girl 
make it aB herself? ” he asked, surveying the shapely, 
sweet-smelling object, with real interest and pleasure. 


186 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ Every particle herself, and never asked a bit of 
help or advice from any one,” answered Aunt Plenty, 
folding her hands with an air of unmitigated satis- 
faction, for her pupil certainly did her great credit. 

“I’ve had so many failures and troubles that I 
really thought I never should be able to do it alone. 
Dolly let one splendid batch burn up because I forgot 
it. She was there and smelt it, but never did a thing, 
for she said, when I undertook to bake bread I must 
give my whole mind to it. Wasn’t it hard? She 
might have called me at least,” said Rose, recollect- 
ing, with a sigh, the anguish of that moment. 

“ She meant you should learn by experience, as 
Rosamond did in that little affair of the purple jar, 
you remember.” 

“ I always thought it very unfair in her mother 
not to warn the poor thing a little bit ; and she was 
regularly mean when Rosamond asked for a bowl to 
put the purple stuff in, and she said, in such a pro- 
voking way, ‘ I did not agree to lend you a bowl, but 
I will, my dear.’ Ugh ! I always want to shake 
that hateful woman, though she was a moral mamma.” 

“ Never mind her now, but tell me all about my 
loaf,” said Dr. Alec, much amused at Rose’s burst of 
indignation. 

“There’s nothing to tell, uncle, except that I did 
my best, gave my mind to it, and sat watching over 
it all the while it was in the oven till I was quite 
baked myself. Every thing went right this time, and 
it came out a nice, round, crusty loaf, as you see. 
Now taste it, and tell me if it is good as well as hand- 
some.” 


BREAD AND BUTTON-HOLES. 


187 


“ Must I cut it ? Can’t I put it under a glass cover 
and keep it in the parlor as they do wax flowers and 
fine works of that sort ? ” 

“ What an idea, uncle ! It would mould and be 
spoilt. Besides, people would laugh at us, and make 
fun of my old-fashioned accomplishment. You prom- 
ised to eat it, and you must ; not all at once, but as 
soon as you can, so I can make you some more.” 

Dr. Alec solemnly cut off his favorite crusty slice, 
and solemnly ate it ; then wiped his lips, and brush- 
ing back Rose’s hair, solemnly kissed her on the fore- 
head, saying heartily, — 

“ My dear, it is perfect bread, and you are an honor 
to your teacher. When we have our model school 
I shall offer a prize for the best bread, and you will 
get it.” 

“ I ’ve got it already, and I ’m quite satisfied,” said 
Rose, slipping into her seat, and trying to hide her 
right hand which had a burn on it. 

But Dr. Alec saw it, guessed how it came there, 
and after tea insisted on easing the pain which she 
would hardly confess. 

“Aunt Clara says I am spoiling my hands, but I 
don’t care, for I’ve had such good times with Aunt 
Plenty, and I think she has enjoyed it as much as I 
have. Only one thing troubles me, uncle, and I want 
to ask you about it,” said Rose, as they paced up and 
down the hall in the twilight, the bandaged hand very 
carefully laid on Dr. Alec’s arm. 

“ More little confidences ? I like them immensely, 
so tell away, my dear.” 

“Well, you see I feel as if Aunt Peace would like 


188 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


to do something for me, and I Ve found out what it 
can be. You know she can’t go about like Aunty 
Plen, and we are so busy nowadays that she is rather 
lonely, I ’m afraid. So I want to take lessons in sew- 
ing of her. She works so beautifully, and it is a 
useful thing, you know, and I ought to be a good 
needlewoman as well as housekeeper, ought n’t I ? ” 

“ Bless your kind little heart, that is what I was 
thinking of the other day when Aunt Peace said 
she saw you very seldom now, you were so busy. 
I wanted to speak of it, but fancied you had as 
much on your hands as you could manage. It would 
delight the dear woman to teach you all her delicate 
handicraft, especially button-holes, for I believe that 
is where young ladies fail ; at least I ’ve heard them 
say so. So, do you devote your mind to button-holes ; 
make ’em all over my clothes if you want something 
to practice on. I ’ll wear any quantity.” 

Rose laughed at this reckless offer, but promised 
to attend to that important branch, though she con- 
fessed that darning was her weak point. Whereupon 
Uncle Alec engaged to supply her with socks in all 
stages of dilapidation, and to have a new set at once, 
so that she could run the heels for him as a pleasant 
beginning. 

Then they went up to make their request in due 
form, to the great delight of gentle Aunt Peace, who 
got quite excited with the fun that went on while 
they wound yarn, looked up darning-needles, and 
fitted out a nice little mending basket for her pupil. 

Very busy and very happy were Rose’s days now, 
for in the morning she went about the house with 


BREAD AND BUTTON-HOLES. 


189 


Aunt Plenty attending to linen-closets and store- 
rooms, pickling and preserving, exploring garret and 
cellar to see that all was right, and learning, in the 
good old-fashioned manner, to look well after the 
ways of the household. 

In the afternoon, after her walk or drive, she sat 
with Aunt Peace plying her needle, while Aunt 
Plenty, whose eyes were failing, knit and chatted 
briskly, telling many a pleasant story of old times, 
till the three were moved to laugh and cry together, 
for the busy needles were embroidering all sorts of 
bright patterns on the lives of the workers, though 
they seemed to be only stitching cotton and darning 
hose. 

It was a pretty sight to see the rosy-faced little 
maid sitting between the two old ladies, listening du- 
tifully to their instructions, and cheering the lessons 
with her lively chatter and blithe laugh. If the kitchen 
had proved attractive to Dr. Alec when Rose was there 
at work, the sewing-room was quite irresistible, and he 
made himself so agreeable that no one had the heart 
to drive him away, especially when he read aloud or 
spun yarns. 

“ There ! I ’ve made you a new set of warm night- 
gowns with four button-holes in each. See if they are 
not neatly done,” said Rose, one day, some weeks after 
the new lessons began. 

“ Even to a thread, and nice little bars across the 
end so I can’t tear them when I twitch the buttons 
out. Most superior work, ma’am, and I’m deeply 
grateful ; so much so, that I ’ll sew on these buttons 
myself, and save those tired fingers from another 
prick.” 


190 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“You sew them on?” cried Rose, with her eyes 
wide open in amazement. 

“ Wait a bit till I get my sewing tackle, and then 
you shall see what I can do.” 

“Can he, really?” asked Rose of Aunt Peace, as 
Uncle Alec marched off with a comical air of impor- 
tance. 

“ Oh, yes, I taught him years ago, before he went 
to sea ; and I suppose he has had to do things for 
himself, more or less, ever since ; so he has kept his 
hand in.” 

He evidently had, for he was soon back with a funny 
little work-bag, out of which he produced a thimble 
without a top; and, having threaded his needle, he 
proceeded to sew on the buttons so handily that Rose 
was much impressed and amused. 

“ I wonder if there is any thing in the world that 
you cannot do,” she said, in a tone of respectful ad- 
miration. 

“ There are one or two things that I am not up to 
yet,” he answered, with a laugh in the corner of his 
eye, as he waxed his thread with a flourish. 

“I should like to know what?” 

“Bread and button-holes, ma’am.” 


CHAPTER XVII. 


GOOD BARGAINS . 

I T was a rainy Sunday afternoon, and four boys were 
trying to spend it quietly in the “ liberry,” as 
Jamie called the room devoted to books and boys, at 
Aunt Jessie’s. Will and Geordie were sprawling on 
the sofa, deep in the adventures of the scapegraces 
and ragamuffins whose histories are now the fashion. 
Archie lounged in the easy chair surrounded by news- 
papers ; Charlie stood upon the rug, in an Englishman’s 
favorite attitude, and, I regret to say, both were smok- 
ing cigars. 

“ It is my opinion that this day will never come to 
an end,” said Prince, with a yawn that nearly rent 
him asunder. 

“ Read and improve your mind, my son,” answered 
Archie, peering solemnly over the paper behind which 
he had been dozing. 

“ Don’t you preach, parson ; but put on your boots 
and come out for a tramp, instead of mulling over the 
fire like a granny.” 

“ No, thank you, tramps in an easterly storm don’t 
strike me as amusing.” There Archie stopped and 
held up his hand, for a pleasant voice was heard saying 
outside, — 


192 


EIGHT COUSINS . 



“ Are the boys in the library, auntie?” 

“ Yes, dear, and longing for sunshine ; so run in and 
make it for them,” answered Mrs. Jessie. 


"It’s Rose,” and Archie threw his cigar into the 

“ TV hat’s thnt for?” asked Charlie. 




GOOD BARGAINS. 


m 


“ Gentlemen don’t smoke before ladies.” 

« True ; but I ’m not going to waste my weed,” and 
Prince poked his into the empty inkstand that served 
them for an ash tray. 

A gentle tap at the door was answered by a chorus 
of “ Come in,” and Rose appeared, looking blooming 
and breezy with the chilly air. 

“ If I disturb you, say so, and I ’ll go away,” she 
began, pausing on the threshold with modest hesita- 
tion, for something in the elder boys’ faces excited her 
curiosity. 

“You never disturb us, cousin,” said the smokers, 
while the readers tore themselves from the heroes of 
the bar-room and gutter long enough to nod affably to 
their guest. 

As Rose bent to warm her hands, one end of Archie s 
cigar stuck out of the ashes, smoking furiously and 
smelling strongly. 

“ Oh, you bad boys, how could you do it, to-day of 
all days?” she said reproachfully. 

“ Where’s the harm ? ” asked Archie. 

“You know as well as I do; your mother doesnt 
like it, and it’s a bad habit, for it wastes money and 
does you no good.” 

“ Fiddle-sticks ! every man smokes, even Uncle Alec, 
whom you think so perfect,” began Charlie, in his 
teasing way. 

“No, he doesn’t! He has given it up, and I know 
why;” cried Rose eagerly. 

“ Now I think of it, I have n’t seen the old meer- 
schaum since he came home. Did he stop it on our 
account ? ” asked Archie. 


9 


M 


194 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“Yes,” and Rose told the little scene on the sea- 
shore in the camping-out time. 

Archie seemed much impressed, and said manfully, — 
“ He won’t have done that in vain so far as I ’m con- 
cerned. I don’t care a pin about smoking, so can give 
it up as easy as not, and I promise ^ou I will. I only 
do it now and then for fun.” 

“You too?” and Rose looked up at the bonny 
Prince, who never looked less bonny than at that mo- 
ment, for he had resumed his cigar, just to torment 
her. 

Now Charlie cared as little as Archie about smok- 
ing, but it would not do to yield too soon ; so he shook 
his head, gave a great puff, and said loftily, — 

“ You women are always asking us to give up harm- 
less little things, just because you don’t approve of 
them. How would you like it if we did the same by 
you, Miss ? ” 

“ If I did harmful or silly things, I ’d thank you for 
telling me of them, and I ’d try to mend my ways,” 
answered Rose heartily. 

“Well, now, we’ll see if you mean what you say. 
I ’ll give up smoking to please you, if you will give up 
something to please me,” said Prince, seeing a good 
chance to lord it over the weaker vessel at small cost 
to himself. 

“ I ’ll agree if it is as foolish as cigars.” 

“ Oh, it ’s ever so much sillier.” 

“Then I promise; what is it?” and Rose quite 
trembled with anxiety to know which of her pet 
habits or possessions she must lose. 

“Give up your ear-rings,” and Charlie laughed 


GOOD BARGAINS . 


195 


wickedly, sure that she would never hold to that 
bargain. 

Rose uttered a cry and clapped both hands to her 
ears where the gold rings hung. 

“O Charlie, wouldn’t any thing else do as well? 
I ’ve been through so much teasing and trouble, I do 
want to enjoy my pretty ear-rings, for I can wear 
them now.” 

“Wear as many as you like, and I’ll smoke in 
peace,” returned this bad boy. 

“ Will nothing else satisfy you ? ” imploringly. 

“ Nothing,” sternly. 

Rose stood silent for a minute, thinking of some- 
thing Aunt Jessie once said, — “You have more in- 
fluence over the boys than you know; use it for 
their good, and I shall thank you all my life.” Here 
was a chance to do some good by sacrificing a little 
vanity of her own. She felt it was right to do it, 
yet found it very hard, and asked wistfully, — 

“ Do you mean never wear them, Charlie ? ” 

“ Never , unless you want me to smoke.” 

“ I never do.” 

“ Then clinch the bargain.” 

He had no idea she would do it, and was much 
surprised when she took the dear rings from her 
ears, with a quick gesture, and held them out to 
him, saying, in a tone that made the color come up 
to his brown cheek, it was so full of sweet good 
will, — 

“I care more for my cousins than for my ear- 
rings, so I promise, and I’ll keep my word.” 

“For shame, Prince! let her wear her little dan- 


196 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


glers if she likes, and don’t bargain about doing 
what you know is right,” cried Archie, coming out 
of his grove of newspapers with an indignant bounce. 

But Rose was bent on showing her aunt that she 
could use her influence for the boys’ good, and said 
steadily, — 

“It is fair, and I want it to be so, then you will 
believe I ’m in earnest. Here, each of you wear one 
of these on your watch-guard to remind you. I shall 
not forget, because very soon I cannot wear ear-rings 
if I want to.” 

As she spoke, Rose offered a little ring to each 
cousin, and the boys, seeing how sincere she was, 
obeyed her. When the pledges were safe, Rose 
stretched a hand to each, and the lads gave hers 
a hearty grip, half pleased and half ashamed of their 
part in the compact. 

Just at that moment Dr. Alec and Mrs. Jessie 
came in. 

“ What ’s this ? Dancing Ladies Triumph on Sum 
day?” exclaimed Uncle Alec, surveying the trio with 
surprise. 

“No, sir, it is the Anti-Tobacco League. Will 
you join?” said Charlie, while Rose slipped away 
to her aunt, and Archie buried both cigars behind 
the back log. 

When the mystery was explained, the elders were 
well pleased, and Rose received a vote of thanks, 
which made her feel as if she had done a service to 
her country, as she had, for every boy who grows up 
free from bad habits bids fair to make a good citizen. 

“I wish Rose would drive a bargain with Will 


GOOD BARGAINS. 


197 


and Geordie also, for I think these books are as 
bad for the small boys as cigars for the large ones,” 
said Mrs. Jessie, sitting down on the sofa between 
the readers, who politely curled up their legs to 
make room for her. 

“I thought they were all the fashion,” answered 
Dr. Alec, settling in the big chair with Rose. 

“So is smoking, but it is harmful. The writers 
of these popular stories intend to do good, I have 
no doubt, but it seems to me they fail because their 
motto is, ‘ Be smart, and you will be rich,’ instead 
of ‘Be honest, and you will be happy.’ I do not 
judge hastily, Alec, for I have read a dozen, at least, 
of these stories, and, with much that is attractive to 
boys, I find a great deal to condemn in them, and 
other parents say the same when I ask them.” 

“ Now, Mum, that’s too bad ! I like ’em tip-top. 
This one is a regular screamer,” cried Will. 

“ They ’re bully books, and I ’d like to know where’s 
the harm,” added Geordie. 

“You have just shown us one of the chief evils, 
and that is slang,” answered their mother quickly. 

“Must have it, ma’am. If these chaps talked all 
right, there ’d be no fun in ’em,” protested Will. 

“ A boot-black must rCt use good grammar, and a 
newsboy must swear a little, or he wouldn’t be 
natural,” explained Geordie, both boys ready to fight 
gallantly for their favorites. 

“ But my sons are neither boot-blacks nor news- 
boys, and I object to hearing them use such words as 
‘screamer,’ ‘bully,’ and ‘buster.’ In fact, I fail to 
see the advantage of writing books about such people 


198 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


unless it is done in a very different way. I cannot 
think they will help to refine the ragamuffins, if they 
read them, and I ’m sure they can do no good to the 
better class of boys, who through these books are 
introduced to police courts, counterfeiters’ dens, gam- 
bling houses, drinking saloons, and all sorts of low 
life.” 

“Some of them are about first-rate boys, mother; 
and they go to sea and study, and sail round the 
world, having great larks all the way.” 

“ I have read about them, Geordie, and though they 
are better than the others, I am not satisfied with 
these optical delusions, as I call them. Now, I put it 
to you, boys, is it natural for lads from fifteen to 
eighteen to command ships, defeat pirates, outwit 
smugglers, and so cover themselves with glory, that 
Admiral Farragut invites them to dinner, saying : 

‘ Noble boy, you are an honor to your country ! ’ Or, 
if the hero is in the army, he has hair-breadth escapes 
and adventures enough in one small volume to turn 
his hair white, and in the end he goes to Washington 
at the express desire of the President or Commander- 
in-Chief to be promoted to no end of stars and bars. 
Even if the hero is merely an honest boy trying to 
get his living, he is not permitted to do so in a natural 
way, by hard work and years of patient effort, but 
is suddenly adopted by a millionaire whose pocket-book 
he has returned ; or a rich uncle appears from sea, 
just in the nick of time ; or the remarkable boy earns 
a few dollars, speculates in pea-nuts or neckties, and 
grows rich so rapidly that Sinbad in the diamond val- 
ley is a pauper compared to him. Is n’t it so, boys ? ” 


GOOD BARGAINS. 


199 


“Well, the fellows in these books are mighty lucky, 
and very smart, I must say,” answered Will, surveying 
an illustration on the open page before him, where a 
small but virtuous youth is upsetting a tipsy giant in a 
bar-room, and under it the elegant inscription : “ Dick 
Dauntless punches the head of Sam Soaker.” 

“ It gives boys such wrong ideas of life and busi- 
ness ; shows them so much evil and vulgarity that they 
need not know about, and makes the one success worth 
having a fortune, a lord’s daughter, or some worldly 
honor, often not worth the time it takes to win. It 
does seem to me that some one might write stories that 
should be lively, natural, and helpful, — tales in which 
the English should be good, the morals pure, and the 
characters such as we can love in spite of the faults 
that all may have. I can’t bear to see such crowds of 
eager little fellows at the libraries reading such trash ; 
weak, when it is not wicked, and totally unfit to feed 
the hungry minds that feast on it for want of some- 
thing better. There! my lecture is done; now I 
should like to hear what you gentlemen have to say,” 
and Aunt Jessie subsided with a pretty flush on the 
face that was full of motherly anxiety for her boys. 

“ Tom Brown just suits mother, and me too, so I 
wish Mr. Hughes would write another story as good,” 
said Archie. 

“ You don’t find things of this sort in Tom Brown ; 
yet these books are all in the Sunday-school libraries ” 
— and Mrs. Jessie read the following paragraph from 
the book she had taken from Will’s hand : — 

“ 1 In this place we saw a tooth of J ohn the Baptist. 
Ben said he could see locust and wild honey sticking 


200 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


to it. I could n’t. Perhaps John used a piece of the 
true cross for a toothpick.’ ” 

“ A larky sort of a boy says that, Mum, and we 
skip the parts where they describe what they saw in 
the different countries,” cried Will. 

“And those descriptions, taken mostly from guide- 
books, I fancy, are the only parts of any real worth. 
The scrapes of the bad boys make up the rest of the 
story, and it is for those you read these books, I think,” 
answered his mother, stroking back the hair off the 
honest little face that looked rather abashed at this 
true statement of the case. 

“Any way, mother, the ship part is useful, for we 
learn how to sail her, and by and by that will all come 
handy when we go to sea,” put in Geordie. 

“Indeed; then you can explain this manoeuvre to 
me, of course — ” and Mrs. Jessie read from another 
page the following nautical paragraph: — 

“ The wind is south-south-west, and we can have her 
up four points closer to the wind, and still be six points 
off the wind. As she luffs up we shall man the fore 
and main sheets, slack on the weather, and haul on the 
lee braces.” 

“ I guess I could, if I was n’t afraid of uncle. He 
knows so much more than I do, he ’d laugh,” began 
Geordie, evidently puzzled by the question. 

“Ho, you know you can’t, so why make believe? 
We don’t understand half of the sea lingo, Mum, and 
I dare say it ’s all wrong,” cried Will, suddenly going 
over to the enemy, to Geordie’s great disgust. 

“ I do wish the boys would n’t talk to me as if I was 
a ship,” said Rose, bringing forward a private grievance. 


GOOD BARGAINS. 


201 


“Coming home from church, this morning, the wind 
blew me about, and Will called out, right in the street, 

‘ Brail up the foresail, and take in the flying-jib, that 
will ease her.’ ” 

The boys shouted at the plaintive tone in which 
Rose repeated the words that offended her, and Will 
vainly endeavored to explain that he only meant to 
tell her to wrap her cloak closer, and tie a veil over 
the tempest-tossed feathers in her hat. 

“ To tell the truth, if the boys must have slang, I 
can bear the 4 sea lingo/ as Will calls it, better than 
the other. It afflicts me less to hear my sons talk 
about ‘brailing up the foresail’ than doing as they 
* darn please,’ and 4 cut your cable ’ is decidedly prefer- 
able to 4 let her rip.’ I once made a rule that I would 
have no slang in the house. I give it up now, for I 
cannot keep it ; but I will not have rubbishy books ; 
so, Archie, please send these two after your cigars.” 

Mrs. Jessie held both the small boys fast with an 
arm round each neck, and when she took this base 
advantage of them they could only squirm with dis- 
may. 44 Yes, right behind the back log,” she continued, 
energetically. “There, my hearties — (you like sea 
slang, so I’ll give you a bit) — now, I want you to 
promise not to read any more stuff for a month, and 
I ’ll agree to supply you with wholesome fare.” 

“ O mother ! not a single one ? ” cried Will. 

44 Could n’t we just finish those?” pleaded Geordie. 

« The boys threw away half-smoked cigars; and your 
books must go after them. Surely you would not be 
outdone by the 4 old fellows,’ as you call them, or be 
less obedient to little Mum than they were to Rose.” 


202 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“Course not! Come on, Geordie,” and Will tools 
the vow like a hero. His brother sighed, and obeyed, 
but privately resolved to finish his story the minute 
the month was over. 

“You have laid out a hard task for yourself Jessie, 
in trying to provide good reading for boys who have 
been living on sensation stories. It will be like going 
from raspberry tarts to plain bread and butter; but 
you will probably save them from a bilious fever,” said 
Dr. Alec, much amused at the proceedings. 

“I remember hearing grandpa say that a love for 
good books was one of the best safeguards a man could 
have,” began Archie, staring thoughtfully at the fine 
library before him. 

“Yes, but there’s no time to read nowadays; a 
fellow has to keep scratching round to make money 
or he ’s nobody,” cut in Charlie, trying to look worldly, 
wise. 

“ This love of money is the curse of America, and 
for the sake of it men will sell honor and honesty, till 
we don’t know whom to trust, and it is only a genius 
like Agassiz who dares to say, ‘ I cannot waste my time 
in getting rich,’ ” said Mrs. Jessie sadly. 

“Do you want us to be poor, mother?” asked Archie, 
wondering. 

“No, dear, and you never need be, while you can 
use your hands ; but I am afraid of this thirst for wealth, 
and the temptations it brings. O my boys ! I trem- 
ble for the time when I must let you go, because I think 
it would break my heart to have you fail as so many 
fail. It would be far easier to see you dead if it could 
be said of you as of Sumner, — ‘No man dared offer 
him a bribe.’” 


GOOD BARGAINS. 


203 


Mrs. Jessie was so earnest in her motherly anxiety 
that her voice faltered over the last words, and she 
hugged the yellow heads closer in her arms, as if she 
feared to let them leave that safe harbor for the great 
sea where so many little boats go down. The younger 
lads nestled closer to her, and Archie said, in his quiet, 
resolute way, — 

“I cannot promise to be an Agassiz or a Sumner, 
mother ; but I do promise to be an honest man, please 
God.” 

“Then I’m satisfied!” and bolding fast the hand he 
gave her, she sealed his promise with a kiss that had 
all a mother’s hope and faith in it. 

“I don’t see how they ever can be bad, she is so 
fond and proud of them,” whispered Rose, quite touched 
by the little scene. 

“You must help her make them what they should 
be. You have begun already, and when I see those 
rings where they are, my girl is prettier in my sight 
than if the biggest diamonds that ever twinkled shone 
in her ears,” answered Dr. Alec, looking at her with 
approving eyes. 

“ I ’m so glad you think I can do any thing, for I 
perfectly ache to be useful, every one is so good to me, 
especially Aunt Jessie.” 

“ I think you are in a fair way to pay your debts, 
Rosy, for when girls give up their little vanities, and 
boys their small vices, and try to strengthen each other 
in well-doing, matters are going as they ought. W ork 
away, my dear, and help their mother keep these sons 
fit friends for an innocent creature like yourself ; they 
will be the manlier men for it, I can assure you.” 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


FASHION AND PHYSIOLOGY. 

LEASE, sir, I guess you ’d better step up right 



J- away, or it will be too late, for I heard Miss 
Rose say she knew you would n’t like it, and she ’d 
never dare to let you see her.” 

Phebe said this as she popped her head into the 
study, where Dr. Alec sat reading a new book. 

“They are at it, are they?” he said, looking up 
quickly, and giving himself a shake, as if ready for a 
battle of some sort. 

“Yes, sir, as hard as they can talk, and Miss Rose 
don’t seem to know what to do, for the things are ever 
so stylish, and she looks elegant in ’em ; though I like 
her best in the old ones,” answered Phebe. 

“You are a girl of sense. I’ll settle matters for 
Rosy, and you ’ll lend a hand. Is every thing ready 
in her room, and are you sure you understand how 
they go?” 

“ Oh, yes, sir ; but they are so funny ! I know Miss 
Rose will think it ’s a joke,” and Phebe laughed as if 
something tickled her immensely. 

“ Never mind what she thinks so long as she obeys. 
Tell her to do it for my sake, and she will find it the 


FASHION AND PHYSIOLOGY. 


205 


best joke she ever saw. I expect to have a tough 
time of it, but we ’ll win yet,” said the Doctor, as he 
marched upstairs with the book in his hand, and an 
odd smile on his face. 

There was such a clatter of tongues in the sewing- 
room that no one heard his tap at the door, so he 
pushed it open and took an observation. Aunt Plenty, 
Aunt Clara, and Aunt Jessie were all absorbed in gaz- 
ing at Rose, who slowly revolved between them and 
the great mirror, in a full winter costume of the latest 
fashion. 

“ Bless my heart ! worse even than I expected,” 
thought the Doctor, with an inward groan, for, to his 
benighted eyes, the girl looked like a trussed fowl, and 
the fine new dress had neither grace, beauty, nor fit- 
ness to recommend it. 

The suit was of two peculiar shades of blue, so ar- 
ranged that patches of light and dark distracted the 
eye. The upper skirt was tied so tightly back that it 
was impossible to take a long step, and the under one 
was so loaded with plaited frills that it “wobbled” — 
no other word will express it — ungracefully, both fore 
and aft. A bunch of folds was gathered up just below 
the waist behind, and a great bow rode a-top. A small 
jacket of the same material was adorned with a high 
ruff at the back, and laid well open over the breast, to 
display some lace and a locket. Heavy fringes, bows, 
puffs, ruffles, and revers finished off the dress, making 
one’s head ache to think of the amount of work wasted, 
for not a single graceful line struck the eye, and the 
beauty of the material was quite lost in the profusion 
of ornament. 


206 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


A high velvet hat, audaciously turned up in front, 
with a bunch of pink roses and a sweeping plume, was 
cocked over one ear, and, with her curls braided into a 
club at the back of her neck, Rose’s head looked more 
like that of a dashing young cavalier than a modest 
little girl’s. High-heeled boots tilted her well forward, 
a tiny muff pinioned her arms, and a spotted veil tied 
so closely over her face that her eyelashes were rumpled 
by it, gave the last touch of absurdity to her appear- 
ance. 

“ Now she looks like other girls, and as I like to see 
her,” Mrs. Clara was saying, with an air of great sat- 
isfaction. 

“ She does look like a fashionable young lady, but 
somehow I miss my little Rose, for children dressed 
like children in my day,” answered Aunt Plenty, peer- 
ing through her glasses with a troubled look, for she 
could not imagine the creature before her ever sitting 
in her lap, running to wait upon her, or making the 
house gay with a child’s blithe presence. 

“ Things have changed since your day, Aunt, and it 
takes time to get used to new ways. But you, Jessie, 
surely like this costume better than the dowdy things 
Rose has been wearing all summer. Now, be honest, 
and own you do,” said Mrs. Clara, bent on being praised 
for her work. 

“ W ell, dear, to be quite honest, then, I think it is 
frightful,” answered Mrs. Jessie with a candor that 
caused revolving Rose to stop in dismay. 

“ Hear, hear,” cried a deep voice, and with a general 
start the ladies became aware that the enemy was 
among them. 


FASHION AND PHYSIOLOGY. 


207 


Rose blushed up to her hat brim, and stood, looking, 
as she felt, like a fool, while Mrs. Clara hastened to 
explain. 

“ Of course I don’t expect you to like it, Alec, but 
I don’t consider you a judge of what is proper and be- 
coming for a young lady. Therefore I have taken the 
liberty of providing a pretty street suit for Rose. She 
need not wear it if you object, for I know we prom- 
ised to let you do what you liked with the poor dear 
for a year.” 

“ It is a street costume, is it ? ” asked the Doctor, 
mildly. “ Do you know, I never should have guessed 
that it was meant for winter weather and brisk loco- 
motion. Take a turn, Rosy, and let me see all its 
beauties and advantages.” 

Rose tried to walk off with her usual free tread, but 
the under-skirt got in her way, the over-skirt was so 
tight she could not take a long step, and her boots 
made it impossible to carry herself perfectly erect. 

“ I have n’t got used to it yet,” she said, petulantly, 
kicking at her train, as she turned to toddle back again. 

“ Suppose a mad dog or a runaway horse was after 
you, could you get out of the way without upsetting, 
Colonel ?” asked the Doctor, with a twinkle in the eyes 
that were fixed on the rakish hat. 

“ Don’t think I could, but I ’ll try,” and Rose made 
a rush across the room. Her boot-heels caught on a 
rug, several strings broke, her hat tipped over her eyes, 
and she plunged promiscuously into a chair, where she 
sat laughing so infectiously that all but Mrs. Clara 
joined in her mirth. 

“ I should say that a walking suit in which one could 


208 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


not walk, and a winter suit which exposes the throat, 
head, and feet to cold and damp, was rather a failure, 
Clara ; especially as it has no beauty to reconcile one 
to its utter unfitness,” said Dr. Alec, as he helped Rose 
undo her veil, adding, in a low tone, “ Nice thing for the 
eyes ; you ’ll soon see spots when it is off as well as 
when it is on, and, by and by, be a case for an oculist.” 

“No beauty!” cried Mrs. Clara, warmly. “Now 
that is just a man’s blindness. This is the best of silk 
and camel’s hair, real ostrich feathers, and an expensive 
ermine muff. What could be in better taste, or more 
proper for a young girl ? ” 

“I’ll show you, if Rose will go to her room and 
oblige me by putting on what she finds there,” answered 
the Doctor, with unexpected readiness. 

“ Alec, if it is a Bloomer, I shall protest. I ’ve been 
expecting it, but I know I cannot bear to see that 
pretty child sacrificed to your wild ideas of health. 
Tell me it is rCt a Bloomer ! ” and Mrs. Clara clasped 
her hands imploringly. 

“ It is not.” 

“ Thank Heaven ! ” and she resigned herself with a 
sigh of relief, adding plaintively, “ I did hope you ’d 
accept my suit, for poor Rose has been afflicted with 
frightful clothes long enough to spoil the taste of any 
girl.” 

“You talk of my afflicting the child, and then make 
a helpless guy like that of her ! ” answered the Doctor, 
pointing to the little fashion plate that was scuttling 
out of sight as fast as it could go. 

He closed the door with a shrug, but before any one 
could speak, his quick eye fell upon an object which 


FASHION AND PHYSIOLOGY. 


209 


caused him to frown, and demand in an indignant 
tone, — 

“After all I have said, were you really going to 
tempt my girl with those abominable things?” 

“ I thought we put them away when she would n’t 
wear them,” murmured Mrs. Clara, whisking a little 
pair of corsets out of sight, with guilty haste. “ I only 
brought them to try, for Rose is growing stout, and 
will have no figure if it is not attended to soon,” she 
added, with an air of calm conviction that roused the 
Doctor still more, for this was one of his especial abom- 
inations. 

“Growing stout! Yes, thank Heaven, she is, and 
shall continue to do it, for Nature knows howto mould 
a woman better than any corset-maker, and I won’t 
have her interfered with. My dear Clara, have you 
lost your senses that you can for a moment dream of 
putting a growing girl into an instrument of torture 
like this?” and with a sudden gesture he plucked 
forth the offending corsets from under the sofa cushion, 
and held them out with the expression one would weai* 
on beholding the thumbscrews or the rack of ancient 
times. 

“ Don’t be absurd, Alec. There is no torture about 
it, for tight lacing is out of fashion, and we have nice, 
sensible things nowadays. Every one wears them; 
even babies have stiffened waists to support their weak 
little backs,” began Mrs. Clara, rushing to the defence 
of the pet delusion of most women. 

“ I know it, and so the poor little souls have weak 
backs all their days, as their mothers had before them. 
It is vain to argue the matter, and I won’t try, but I 

N 


210 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


wish to state, once for all, that if I ever see a pair of 
corsets near Rose, I ’ll put them in the fire, and you 
may send the bill to me.” 

As he spoke, the corsets were on their way to de- 
struction, but Mrs. Jessie caught his arm, exclaiming 
merrily, “ Don’t burn them, for mercy sake, Alec ; they 
are full of whalebones, and will make a dreadful odor. 
Give them to me. I’ll see that they do no harm.” 

“ Whalebones indeed ! A regular fence of them, and 
metal gate-posts in front. As if our own bones were 
not enough, if we’d give them a chance to do their 
duty,” growled the Doctor, yielding up the bone of con- 
tention with a last shake of contempt. Then his face 
cleared suddenly, and he held up his finger, saying, with 
a smile, “ Hear those girls laugh ; cramped lungs could 
not make hearty music like that.” 

Peals of laughter issued from Rose’s room, and smiles 
involuntarily touched the lips of those who listened to 
the happy sound. 

“Some new prank of yours, Alec?” asked Aunt 
Plenty, indulgently, for she had come to believe in 
most of her nephew’s odd notions, because they seemed 
to work so well. 

“Yes, ma’am, my last, and I hope you will like it. 
I discovered what Clara was at, and got my rival suit 
ready for to-day. I ’m not going to ‘ afflict ’ Rose, but 
let her choose, and if I’m not entirely mistaken, she 
will like my rig best. While we wait I ’ll explain, and 
then you will appreciate the general effect better. I 
got hold of this little book, and was struck with its 
good sense and good taste, for it suggests a way to 
clothe women both healthfully and handsomely, and 


FASHION AND PHYSIOLOGY . 


211 


that is a great point. It begins at the foundations, as 
you will see if you will look at these pictures, and I 
should think women would rejoice at this lightening of 
their burdens.” 

As he spoke, the Doctor laid the book before Aunt 
Plenty, who obediently brought her spectacles to bear 
upon the illustrations, and after a long look exclaimed 
with a scandalized face, — 

“ Mercy on us, these things are like the night-drawers 
Jamie wears! You don’t mean to say you want Rose 
to come out in this costume ? It ’s not proper, and I 
won’t consent to it ! ” 

“ I do mean it, and I ’m sure my sensible aunt will 
consent when she understands that these, — well, — I ’ll 
call them by an Indian name, and say, — pajamas, — 
are for underwear, and Rose can have as pretty frocks 
as she likes outside. These two suits of flannel, each 
in one piece from head to foot, with a skirt or so hung 
on this easily fitting waist, will keep the child warm 
without burdening her with belts, and gathers, and 
buckles, and bunches round the waist, and leave free 
the muscles that need plenty of room to work in. She 
shall never have the back-ache if I can help it, nor the 
long list of ills you dear women think you cannot es- 
cape.” -r. 

“ I don’t consider it modest, and I’m sure Rose will 

be shocked at it,” began Mrs. Clara, but stopped sud- 
denly as Rose appeared in the door-way, not looking 

shocked a bit. w 

“ Come on, my hygienic model, and let us see you, 
said her uncie, with an approving glance, as she walked 
in looking so mischievously merry, that it was evident 
me enjoyed tire joke. 


212 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ Well, I don’t see any thing remarkable. That is a 
neat, plain suit ; the materials are good, and it ’s not 
unbecoming, if you want her to look like a little school- 
girl ; but it has not a particle of style, and no one would 
ever give it a second glance,” said Mrs. Clara, feeling 
that her last remark condemned the whole thing. 

“Exactly what I want,” answered the provoking 
Doctor, rubbing his hands with a satisfied air. “ Rosy 
looks now like what she is, a modest little girl, who 
does not want to be stared at. I think she would get 
a glance of approval, though, from people who like 
sense and simplicity, rather than fuss and feathers. 
Revolve, my Hebe, and let me refresh my eyes by the 
sight of you.” 

There was very little to see, however, only a pretty 
Gabrielle dress, of a soft, warm shade of brown, com- 
ing to the tops of a trim pair of boots with low heels. 
A seal-skin sack, cap, and mittens, with a glimpse of 
scarlet at the throat, and the pretty curls tied up with 
a bright velvet of the’ same color, completed the exter- 
nal adornment, making her look like a robin red- 
breast, — wintry, yet warm. 

“ How do you like it, Rosy ? ” asked the Doctor, feel- 
ing that her opinion was more important to the success 
of his new idea than that of all the aunts on the hill. 

“ I feel very odd and light, but I ’m warm as a toast, 
and nothing seems to be in my way,” answered Rose, 
with a skip which displayed shapely gaiters on legs 
that now might be as free and active as a boy’s under 
the modest skirts of the girl. 

“You can run away from the mad dogs, and walk 
off at a smart pace without tumbling on your nose, 
now, I fancy ? ” 


FASHION AND PHYSIOLOGY. 


213 


“Yes, uncle! suppose the dog coming, I just hop 
over a wall so — and when I walk of a cold day, I 
go like this — ” 

Entering fully into the spirit of the thing, Rose 
swung herself over the high back of the sofa as easily 
as one of her cousins, and then went down the long 
hall as if her stout boots were related to the famous 
seven-leaguers. 

“ There ! you see how it will be ; dress her in that 
boyish way and she will act like a boy. I do hate all 
these inventions of strong-minded women ! ” exclaimed 
Mrs. Clara, as Rose came back at a run. 

“ Ah, but you see some of these sensible inventions 
come from the brain of a fashionable modiste , who 
will make you lovely, or what you value more, — 
‘stylish’ outside and comfortable within. Mrs. Yan 
Tassel has been to Madame Stone, and is wearing a 
full suit of this sort. Yan himself told me, when I 
asked how she was, that she had given up lying on 
the sofa, and was going about in a most astonishing 
way, considering her feeble health.” 

“ You don’t say so ! Let me see that book a mo- 
ment,” and Aunt Clara examined the new patterns 
with a more respectful air, for if the elegant Mrs. Yan 
Tassel wore these “ dreadful things ” it would never 
do to be left behind, in spite of her prejudices. 

Dr. Alec looked at Mrs. Jessie, and both smiled, for 
“ little Mum ” had been in the secret, and enjoyed it 
mightily. 

“I thought that would settle it,” he said with a 
nod. 

“ I didn’t wait for Mrs. Yan to lead the way, and 


214 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


for once in my life I have adopted a new fashion before 
Clara. My freedom suit is ordered, and you may see 
me playing tag with Rose and the boys before long,” 
answered Mrs. Jessie, nodding back at him. 

Meantime Aunt Plenty was examining Rose’s cos- 
tume, for the hat and sack were off, and the girl was 
eagerly explaining the new under-garments. 

“ See, auntie, all nice scarlet flannel, and a gay little 
petticoat, and long stockings, oh, so warm! Phebe 
and I nearly died laughing when I put this rig on, but 
I like it ever so much. The dress is so comfortable, 
and does n’t need any belt or sash, and I can sit with- 
out rumpling any trimming, that ’s such a comfort ! I 
like to be tidy, and so, when I wear fussed-up things, 
I ’m thinking of my clothes all the time, and that ’s 
tiresome. Do say you like it. I resolved I would, 
just to please uncle, for he does know more about 
health than any one else, I ’m sure, and I ’d wear a bag 
if he asked me to do it.” 

“ I don’t ask that, Rose, but I wish you ’d weigh and 
compare the two suits, and then choose which seems 
best. I leave it to your own common-sense,” answered 
Dr. Alec, feeling pretty sure he had won. 

“ Why, I take this one, of course, uncle. The other 
is fashionable, and — yes — I must say I think it ’s 
pretty — but it ’s very heavy, and I should have to go 
round like a walking doll if I wore it. I’m much 
obliged to auntie, but I ’ll keep this, please.” 

Rose spoke gently but decidedly, though there was 
a look of regret when her eye fell on the other suit 
which Phebe had brought in ; and it was very natural 
to like to look as other girls did. Aunt Clara sighed ; 
Uncle Alec smiled, and said heartily, — 


FASHION AND PHYSIOLOGY. 


215 


“Thank you, dear; now read this book and you 
will understand why I ask it of you. Then, if you 
like, I ’ll give you a new lesson ; you asked for one 
yesterday, and this is more necessary than French or 
housekeeping.” 

“ Oh, what ? ” and Rose caught up the book which 
Mrs. Clara had thrown down with a disgusted look. 

Though Dr. Alec was forty, the boyish love of teasing 
was not yet dead in him, and, being much elated at his 
victory, he could not resist the temptation of shocking 
Mrs. Clara by suggesting dreadful possibilities, so he 
answered, half in earnest half in jest : “ Physiology, 
Rose. Would n’t you like to be a little medical student 
with Uncle Doctor for teacher, and be ready to take 
up his practice when he has to stop ? If you agree, 
I ’ll hunt up my old skeleton to-morrow.” 

That was too much for Aunt Clara, and she hastily 
departed with her mind in a sad state of perturbation 
about Mrs. Van Tassel’s new costume, and Rose’s now 
study. 


CHAPTER XIX. 


BROTHER BONES. 

OSE accepted her uncle’s offer, as Aunt Myra 



-L v. discovered two or three days later. Coming in 
for an early call, and hearing voices in the study, she 
opened the door, gave a cry and shut it quickly, 
looking a good deal startled. The Doctor appeared 
in a moment, and begged to know what the matter 


was. 


“How can you ask when that long box looks so 
like a coffin I thought it was one, and that dreadful 
thing stared me in the face as I opened the door,” 
answered Mrs. Myra, pointing to the skeleton that 
hung from the chandelier cheerfully grinning at all 
beholders. 

“This is a medical college where women are freely 
admitted, so walk in, madam, and join the class if 
you’ll do me the honor,” said the Doctor, waving 
her forward with his politest bow. 

“Do, auntie; it’s perfectly splendid,” cried Rose’s 
voice, and Rose’s blooming face was seen behind the 
ribs of the skeleton, smiling and nodding in the gayest 
possible manner. 

“What are you doing, child?” demanded Aunt 
Myra, dropping into a chair and staring about her. 


BROTHER BONES. 


217 


“ Oh, I ’m learning bones to-day, and I like it so 
much. There are twelve ribs, you know, and the two 
lower ones are called floating ribs, because they are 
not fastened to the breast bone. That ’s why they go 
in so easily if you lace tight and squeeze the lungs and 
heart in the — let me see, what was that big word — 
oh, I know — thoracic cavity,” and Rose beamed with 
pride as she aired her little bit of knowledge. 

“Do you think that is a good sort of thing for her 
to be poking over ? She is a nervous child, and I ’m 
afraid it will be bad for her,” said Aunt Myra, watch- 
ing Rose as she counted vertebrae, and waggled a hip- 
joint in its socket with an inquiring expression. 

“An excellent study, for she enjoys it, and I mean 
to teach her how to manage her nerves so that they 
won’t be a curse to her, as many a woman’s become 
through ignorance or want of thought. To make a 
mystery or a terror of these things is a mistake, and I 
mean Rose shall understand and respect her body so 
well that she won’t dare to trifle with it as most 
women do.” 

“And she really likes it?” 

“Very much, auntie! It’s all so wonderful, and 
so nicely planned, you can hardly believe what you 
gee. Just think, there are 600,000,000 air cells in one 
pair of lungs, and 2,000 pores to a square inch of 
surface; so you see what quantities of air we must 
have, and what care we should take of our skin so all 
the little doors will open and shut right. And brains, 
auntie, you’ve no idea how curious they are; I 
haven’t got to them yet, but I long to, and uncle 
is going to show me a manikin that you can take to 
10 


218 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


pieces. Just think how nice it will be to see all the 
organs in their places ; I only wish they could be made 
to work as ours do.” 

It was funny to see Aunt Myra’s face as Rose stood 
before her talking rapidly with one hand laid in the 
friendliest manner on the skeleton’s shoulder. Every 
word both the Doctor and Rose uttered hit the good 
lady in her weakest spot, and as she looked and 
listened a long array of bottles and pill-boxes rose up 
before her, reproaching her with the “ignorance and 
want of thought” that made her what she was, a 
nervous, dyspeptic, unhappy old woman. 

“ Well, I don’t know but you may be right, Alec, 
only I wouldn’t carry it too far. Women don’t need 
much of this sort of knowledge, and are not fit for it. 
I could n’t bear to touch that ugly thing, and it gives 
me the creeps to hear about * organs,’ ” said Aunt 
Myra, with a sigh and her hand on her side. 

“ W ould n’t it be a comfort to know that your liver 
was on the right side, auntie, and not on the left?” 
asked Rose with a naughty laugh in her eyes, for she 
had lately learned that Aunt Myra’s liver complaint 
was not in the proper place. 

“ It’s a dying world, child, and it don’t much matter 
where the pain is, for sooner or later we all drop off 
and are seen no more,” was Aunt Myra’s cheerful 
reply. 

“Well, I intend to know what kills me if I can, and 
meantime I’m going to enjoy myself in spite of a 
dying world. I wish you ’d do so too, and come and 
study with uncle, it would do }'ou good I’m sure,” 
and Rose went back to counting vertebrae with such 


BROTHER BONES. 


219 


a happy face that Aunt Myra had not the heart to say 
a word to dampen her ardor. 

“ Perhaps it ’s as well to let her do what she likes 
the little while she is with us. But pray be careful of 
her, Alec, and not allow her to overwork,” she whis- 
pered as she went out. 

“ That’s exactly what I’m trying to do, ma’am, and 
rather a hard job I find it,” he added, as he shut the 
door, for the dear aunts were dreadfully in his way 
sometimes. 

Half an hour later came another interruption in the 
shape of Mac, who announced his arrival by the brief 
but elegant remark, — 

“ Hullo ! what new game is this ? ” 

Hose explained, Mac gave a long whistle of surprise, 
and then took a promenade round the skeleton, ob- 
serving gravely, — 

“ Brother Bones looks very jolly, but I can’t say 
much for his beauty.” 

“ You must n’t make fun of him, for he’s a good old 
fellow, and you ’d be just as ugly if your flesh was off,” 
said Rose, defending her new friend with warmth. 

“ I dare say, so I ’ll keep my flesh on, thank you. 
You are so busy you can’t read to a fellow, I suppose ? ” 
asked Mac, whose eyes were better, but still too weak 
for books. 

“ Don’t you want to come and join my class ? uncle 
explains it all to us, and you can take a look at the 
plates as they come along. W e ’ll give up bones to- 
day and have eyes instead ; that will be more interest- 
ing to you,” added Rose, seeing no ardent thirst for 
physiological information in his face. 


220 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“Rose, we must not fly about from one thing to 
another in this way,” began Dr. Alec ; but she whis- 
pered quickly, with a nod towards Mac, whose goggles 
were turned wistfully in the direction of the forbidden 
books, — 

“ He ’s blue to-day, and we must amuse him ; give a 
little lecture on eyes, and it will do him good. No 
matter about me, uncle.” 

“ Very well ; the class will please be seated,” and 
the Doctor gave a sounding rap on the table. 

“ Come, sit by me, dear, then we can both see the 
pictures; and if your head gets tired you can lie 
down,” said Rose, generously opening her little college 
to a brother, and kindly providing for the weaknesses 
that all humanity is subject to. 

Side by side they sat and listened to a very simple 
explanation of the mechanism of the eye, finding it as 
wonderful as a fairy tale, for fine plates illustrated it, 
and a very willing teacher did his best to make the 
lesson pleasant. 

“ Jove ! if I ’d known what mischief I was doing to 
that mighty delicate machine of mine, you would n’t 
have caught me reading by fire light, or studying 
with a glare of sunshine on my book,” said Mac, peer- 
ing solemnly at a magnified eyeball ; then, pushing it 
away, he added indignantly : “ Why is n’t a fellow 
taught all about his works, and how to manage ’em, 
and not left to go blundering into all sorts of worries ? 
Telling him after lie’s down isn’t much use, for then 
he ’s found it out himself and won’t thank you.” 

“ Ah, Mac, that’s just what I keep lecturing about, 
and people won’t listen. You lads need that sort of 


BROTHER BONES. 


221 


knowledge so much, and fathers and mothers ought 
to be able to give it to you. Few of them are able 
and so we all go blundering, as you say. Less Greek 
and Latin and more knowledge of the laws of health 
for my boys, if I had them. Mathematics are all very 
well, but morals are better, and I wish, how I wish 
that I could help teachers and parents to feel it as 
they ought.” 

“ Some do ; Aunt Jessie and her boys have capital 
talks, and I wish we could ; but mother ’s so busy with 
her housekeeping, and father with his business, there 
never seems to be any time for that sort of thing ; even 
if there was, it don’t seem as if it would be easy to 
talk to them, because we ’ve never got into the way of 
it, you know.” 

Poor Mac was right there, and expressed a want 
that many a boy and girl feels. Fathers and mothers 
are too absorbed in business and housekeeping to study 
their children, and cherish that sweet and natural 
confidence which is a child’s surest safeguard, and a 
parent’s subtlest power. So the young hearts hide 
trouble or temptation till the harm is done, and mutual 
regret comes too late. Happy the boys and girls who 
tell all things freely to father or mother, sure of pity, 
help, and pardon ; and thrice happy the parents who, 
out of their own experience, and by their own virtues, 
can teach and uplift the souls for which they are re- 
sponsible. 

This longing stirred in the hearts of Rose and Mac, 
and by a natural impulse both turned to Dr. Alec, for 
in this queer world of ours, fatherly and motherly 
hearts often beat warm and wise in the breasis of 


222 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


bachelor uncles and maiden aunts ; and it is my private 
opinion that these worthy creatures are a beautiful 
provision of nature for the cherishing of other people’s 
children. They certainly get great comfort out of it, 
and receive much innocent affection that otherwise 
would be lost. 

Dr. Alec was one of these, and his big heart had 
room for every one of the eight cousins, especially 
orphaned Rose and afflicted Mac ; so, when the boy 
uttered that unconscious reproach to his parents, and 
Rose added with a sigh, “ It must be beautiful to have 
a mother ! ” — the good Doctor yearned over them, 
and, shutting his book with a decided slam, said in 
that cordial voice of his, — 

“ Now, look here, children, you just come and tell 
me all your worries, and with God’s help I ’ll settle 
them for you. That is what I ’m here for, I believe, 
and it will be a great happiness to me if you can trust 
me.” 

“We can, uncle, and we will ! ” both answered with 
a heartiness that gratified him much. 

“ Good ! now school is dismissed, and I advise you 
to go and refresh your 600,000,000 air cells by a brisk 
run in the garden. Come again whenever you like, 
Mac, and we ’ll teach you all we can about your 
‘ works,’ as you call them, so you can keep them 
running smoothly.” 

“We’ll come, sir, much obliged,” and the class in 
physiology went out to walk. 

Mac did come again, glad to find something he could 
study in spite of his weak eyes, and learned much that 
was of more value than any thing his school had ever 
taught him. 


BROTHER BONES. 


223 


Of course, the other lads made great fun of the whole 
thing, and plagued Dr. Alec’s students half out of their 
lives. But they kept on persistently, and one day 
something happened which made the other fellows 
behave themselves for ever after. 

It was a holiday, and Rose up in her room thought 
she heard the voices of her cousins, so she ran down 
to welcome them, but found no one there. 

“ Never mind, they will be here soon, and then we ’ll 
have a frolic,” she said to herself, and thinking she had 
been mistaken she went into the study to wait. She 
was lounging over the table looking at a map when 
an odd noise caught her ear. A gentle tapping some- 
where, and following the sound it seemed to come from 
the inside of the long case in which the skeleton lived 
when not professionally engaged. This case stood 
upright in a niche between two book-cases at the back 
of the room, a darkish corner, where Brother Bones, 
as the boys would call him, was out of the way. 

As Rose stood looking in that direction, and won- 
dering if a rat had got shut in, the door of the case 
swung slowly open, and with a great start she saw 
a bony arm lifted, and a bony finger beckon to her. 
For a minute she was frightened, and ran to the study 
door with a fluttering heart, but just as she touched 
the handle a queer, stifled sort of giggle made her stop 
short and turn red with anger. She paused an instant 
to collect herself, and then went softly toward the bony 
beckoner. A nearer look revealed black threads tied 
to the arm and fingers, the ends of threads disappearing 
through holes bored in the back of the case. Peeping 
into the deep recess, she also caught sight of the tip of 


224 EIGHT COUSINS. 

an elbow covered with a rough gray cloth which she 
knew very well. 

Quick as a flash she understood the joke, her 
fear vanished, and with a wicked smile, she whipped 
out her scissors, cut the threads, and the bony arm 
dropped with a rattle. Before she could say, “ Come 
out, Charlie, and let my skeleton alone,” a sudden irrup- 
tion of boys all in a high state of tickle proclaimed to 
the hidden rogue that his joke was a failure. 

“ I told him not to do it, because it might give you 
a start,” explained Archie, emerging from the closet. 

“ I had a smelling-bottle all ready if she fainted 
away,” added Steve, popping up from behind the 
great chair. 

“ It ’s too bad of you not to squawk and run ; we 
depended on it, it ’s such fun to howl after you,” said 
Will and Geordie, rolling out from under the sofa in a 
promiscuous heap. 

“You are getting altogether too strong-minded, 
Rose ; most girls would have been in a jolly twitter 
to see this old fellow waggling his finger at them,” 
complained Charlie, squeezing out from his tight 
quarters, dusty and disgusted. 

“ I ’m used to your pranks now, so I ’m always on 
the watch and prepare !. But I won’t have Brother 
Bones made fun of. I know uncle would n’t like it, 
so please don’t,” began Rose just as Dr. Alec came in, 
and, seeing the state of the case at a glance, he said 
quietly, — 

“ Hear how I got that skeleton, and then I ’m sure 
you will treat it with respect.” 

The boys settled down at once on any article of 
furniture that was nearest and listened dutifully. 


BROTHER BONES. 


225 


“ Years ago, when I was in the hospital, a poor fel- 
low was brought there with a rare and very painful 
disease. There was no hope for him, but we did our 
best, and he was so grateful that when he died he left 
us his body that we might discover the mysteries of 
his complaint, and so be able to help others afflicted in 
the same way. It did do good, and his brave patience 
made us remember him long after he was gone. He 
thought I had been kind to him, and said to a fellow- 
student of mine : 4 Tell the Doctor I lave him me 
bones, for I ’ve nothing else in the wide world, and 
I ’ll not be wanting ’em at all, at all, when the great 
pain has kilt me entirely.’ So that is how they came 
to be mine, and why I ’ve kept them carefully ; for, 
though only a poor, ignorant fellow, Mike Nolan did 
what he could to help others, and prove his gratitude 
to those who tried to help him.” 

As Dr. Alec paused, Archie closed the door of the 
case as respectfully as if the mummy of an Egyptian 
king was inside ; Will and Geordie looked solemnly 
at one another, evidently much impressed, and Charlie 
pensively remarked from the coal-hod where he sat, — 

“ I ’ve often heard of a skeleton in the house, but I 
think few people have one as useful and as interesting 
as ours.” 


10 * 


o 


CHAPTER XX. 

UNDER THE MISTLETOE. 

R OSE made Pliebe promise that she would bring 
her stocking into the “ Bower,” as she called 
her pretty room, on Christmas morning, because that 
first delicious rummage loses half its charm if two 
little night-caps at least do not meet over the treas- 
ures, and two happy voices Oh and Ah together. 

So when Rose opened her eyes that day they fell 
upon faithful Phebe, rolled up in a shawl, sitting on 
the rug before a blazing fire, with her untouched 
stocking laid beside her. 

“ Merry Christmas ! ” cried the little mistress, smil- 
ing gayly. 

“Merry Christmas!” answered the little maid, so 
heartily that it did one good to hear her. 

“ Bring the stockings right away, Phebe, and let ’s 
see what we ’ve got,” said Rose, sitting up among the 
pillows, and looking as eager as a child. 

A pair of long knobby hose were laid out upon the 
coverlet and their contents examined with delight, 
though each knew every blessed thing that had been 
put into the other’s stocking. 

Never mind what they were ; it is evident that they 


UNDER THE MISTLETOE. 


227 


were quite satisfactory, for as Rose leaned back, she 
said, with a luxurious sigh of satisfaction : “ Now, I 

believe I Ve got every thing in the world that I want,” 
and Phebe answered, smiling over a lapful of treas- 
ures : “ This is the most splendid Christmas I ever had 
since I was born.” Then, she added with an impor- 
tant air, — 

“ Do wish for something else, because I happen to 
know of two more presents outside the door this min- 
ute.” 

“ Oh, me, what richness ! ” cried Rose, much ex- 
cited. “I used to wish for a pair of glass slippers 
like Cinderella’s, but as I can’t have them, I really 
don’t know what to ask for.” 

Phebe clapped her hands as she skipped off the bed 
and ran to the door, saying merrily : “ One of them 
is for your feet any way. I don’t know what you ’ll 
say to the other, but I think it ’s elegant.” 

So did Rose, when a shining pair of skates and a 
fine sled appeared. 

“ Uncle sent those ; I know he did ; and, now I see 
them, I remember that I did want to skate and coast. 
Is n’t it a beauty ? See ! they fit nicely,” and, sit- 
ting on the new sled, Rose tried a skate on her little 
bare foot, while Phebe stood by admiring the pretty 
tableau. 

“Now we must hurry and get dressed, for there 
is a deal to do to-day, and I want to get through in 
time to try my sled before dinner.” 

“ Gracious me, and I ought to be dusting my par- 
lors this blessed minute ! ” and mistress and maid sep- 
arated with such happy faces that any one would have 
known what day it was without being told. 


228 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“Birnam Wood has come to Dunsinane, Rosy,” 
said Dr. Alec, as he left the breakfast table to open 
the door for a procession of holly, hemlock, and cedar 
boughs that came marching up the steps. 

Snowballs and “ Merry Christmases ! ” flew about 
pretty briskly for several minutes ; then all fell to 
work trimming up the old house, for the family al- 
ways dined together there on that day. 

“ I rode miles and mileses, as Ben says, to get this 
fine bit, and I ’in going to hang it there as the last 
touch to the rig-a-madooning,” said Charlie, as he 
fastened a dull green branch to the chandelier in the 
front parlor. 

“It isn’t very pretty,” said Rose, who was trim- 
ming the chimney-piece with glossy holly sprays. 

“Never mind that, it’s mistletoe, and any one who 
stands under it will get kissed whether they like it or 
not. Now’s your time, ladies,” answered the saucy 
Prince, keeping his place and looking sentimentally at 
the girls, who retired precipitately from the dangerous 
spot. 

“ You won’t catch me,” said Rose, with great dig- 
nity. 

“ See if I don’t!” 

“ I ’ve got my eye on Phebe,” observed Will, in a 
patronizing tone that made them all laugh. 

“ Bless the dear ; I sha’n’t mind it a bit,” answered 
Phebe, with such a maternal air that Will’s budding 
gallantry was chilled to death. 

“ Oh, the mistletoe bough ! ” sang Rose. 

“ Oh, the mistletoe bough ! ” echoed all the boys, 
and the teasing ended in the plaintive ballad they all 
liked so well. 


UNDER THE MISTLETOE. 


229 


There was plenty of time to try the new skates 
before dinner, and then Rose took her first lesson on 
the little bay, which seemed to have frozen over for 
that express purpose. She found tumbling down and 
getting up again warm work for a time, but, with six 
boys to teach her, she managed at last to stand alone ; 
and, satisfied with that success, she refreshed herself 
with a dozen grand coasts on the Amazon, as her sled 
was called. 

“ Ah, that fatal color ! it breaks my heart to see 
it,” croaked Aunt Myra, as Rose came down a little 
late, with cheeks almost as ruddy as the holly berries 
on the wall, and every curl as smooth as Phebe’s care- 
ful hands could make it. 

“ I ’m glad to see that Alec allows the poor child to 
make herself pretty in spite of his absurd notions,” 
added Aunt Clara, taking infinite satisfaction in the 
fact that Rose’s blue silk dress had three frills on it. 

“ She is a very intelligent child, and has a nice little 
manner of her own,” observed Aunt Jane, with un- 
usual affability ; for Rose had just handed Mac a screen 
to guard his eyes from the brilliant fire. 

“ If I had a daughter like that to show my Jem 
when he gets home, I should be a very proud and 
happy woman,” thought Aunt Jessie, and then re- 
proached herself for not being perfectly satisfied with 
her four brave lads. 

Aunt Plenty was too absorbed in the dinner to have 
an eye for any thing else ; if she had not been, she 
would have seen what an effect her new cap produced 
upon the boys. The good lady owned that she did 
“love a dressy cap,” and on this occasion her head- 


230 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


gear was magnificent; for the towering structure of 
lace was adorned with buff ribbons to such an extent 
that it looked as if a flock of yellow butterflies had 
settled on her dear old head. When she trotted about 
the rooms the ruches quivered, the little bows all stood 
erect, and the streamers waved in the breeze so comi- 
cally that it was absolutely necessary for Archie to 
smother the Brats in the curtains till they had had 
their first laugh out. 

Uncle Mac had brought Fun See to dinner, and it 
was a mercy he did, for the elder lads found a vent 
for their merriment in joking the young Chinaman on 
his improved appearance. He was in American cos- 
tume now, with a cropped head, and spoke remarkably 
good English after six months at school ; but, for all 
that, his yellow face and beady eyes made a curious 
contrast to the blonde Campbells all about him. Will 
called him the “ Typhoon,” meaning Tycoon, and the 
name stuck to him to his great disgust. 

Aunt Peace was brought down and set in the chair 
of state at table, for she never failed to join the family 
on this day, and sat smiling at them all “ like an em- 
bodiment of Peace on earth,” Uncle Alec said, as he 
took his place beside her, while Uncle Mac supported 
Aunt Plenty at the other end. 

“ I ate hardly any breakfast, and I ’ve done every 
thing I know to make myself extra hungry, but I really 
don’t think I can eat straight through, unless I burst 
my buttons off,” whispered Geordie to Will, as he sur- 
veyed the bounteous stores before him with a hopeless 
sigh. 

“ A fellow never knows what he can do till he tries,” 


UNDER THE 


answered Will, attacking his ht 
evident intention of doing his du. 

Everybody knows what a Christii. 
need waste no words in describing this 
at once to tell what happened at the em 
end, by the way, was so long in coming that 
was lighted before dessert was over, for a snow hu 
had come on and the wintry daylight faded fast Bu 
that only made it all the jollier in the warm, bright 
rooms, full of happy souls. Every one was very merry, 
but Archie seemed particularly uplifted, — so much so, 
that Charlie confided to Rose that he was afraid the 
Chief had been at the decanters. 

Rose indignantly denied the insinuation, for when 
healths were drunk in the good old-fashioned way to 
suit the elders, she had observed that Aunt Jessie’s 
boys filled their glasses with water, and had done the 
same herself in spite of the Prince’s jokes about “ the 
rosy.” 

But Archie certainly was unusually excited, and 
when some one remembered that it was the anniversary 
of Uncle Jem’s wedding, and wished he was there to 
make a speech, his son electrified the family by trying 
to do it for him. It was rather incoherent and flowery, 
as maiden speeches are apt to be, but the end was con- 
sidered superb ; for, turning to his mother with a queer 
little choke in his voice, he said that she “ deserved to 
be blessed with peace and plenty, to be crowned with 
roses and lads-love, and to receive the cargo of happi- 
ness sailing home to her in spite of wind or tide to 
add another Jem to the family jewels.” 

That allusion to the Captain, now on his return trip, 


OUSINS. 


in her napkin, and set the boys 
if that was not sensation enough, 
.ashed out of the room as if he had 

„ul to stay and be praised,” began Charlie, 
0 the peculiarities of his chief as in duty 

~nd. 

“ Phebe beckoned to him ; I saw her,” cried Rose, 
staring hard at the door. 

“Is it more presents coming?” asked Jamie, just as 
his brother re-appeared looking more excited than 
ever. 

“ Yes; a present for mother, and h'ere it is ! ” roared 
Archie, flinging wide the door to let in a tall man who 
cried out, — 

“ Where ’s my little woman ? The first kiss for her, 
then the rest may come on as fast as they like.” 

Before the words were out of his mouth, Mrs. Jessie 
was half hidden under his rough great-coat, and four 
boys were prancing about him clamoring for their turn. 

Of course, there was a joyful tumult for a time, dur- 
ing which Rose slipped into the window recess and 
watched what went on, as if it were a chapter in a 
Christmas story. It was good to see bluff Uncle Jem 
look proudly at his tall son, and fondly hug the little 
ones. It was better still to see him shake his brothers’ 
hands as if he would never leave off, and kiss all the 
sisters in a way that made even solemn Aunt Myra 
brighten up for a minute. But it was best of all to see 
him finally established in grandfather’s chair, with his 
“ little woman ” beside him, his three youngest boys in 
his lap, and Archie hovering over him like a large- 


UNDER THE MISTLETOE. 


233 


sized cherub. That really was, as Charlie said, “A 
landscape to do one’s heart good.” 

“ All hearty and all here, thank God ! ” said Captain 
Jem in the first pause that came, as he looked about 
him with a grateful face. 

“ All but Rose,” answered loyal little Jamie, remem- 
bering the absent. 

“ Faith, I forgot the child ! Where is George’s little 
girl?” asked the Captain, who had not seen her since 
she was a baby. 

“You’d better say Alec’s great girl,” said Uncle 
Mac, who professed to be madly jealous of his brother. 

“ Here I am, sir,” and Rose appeared from behind 
the curtains, looking as if she had rather have staid 
there. 

“ Saint George Germain, how the mite has grown ! ” 
cried Captain Jem, as he tumbled the boys out of his 
lap, and rose to greet the tall girl, like a gentleman as 
he was. But, somehow, when he shook her hand it 
looked so small in his big one, and her face reminded 
him so strongly of his dead brother, that he was not 
satisfied with so cold a welcome, and with a sudden 
softening of the keen eyes he took her up in his arms, 
whispering, with a rough cheek against her smooth 
one, — 

“ God bless you, child ! forgive me if I forgot you 
for a minute, and be sure that not one of your kinsfolk 
is happier to see you here than Uncle Jem.” 

That made it all right ; and when he set her down, 
Rose’s face was so bright it was evident that some 
spell had been used to banish the feeling of neglect 
that had kept her moping behind the curtain so long- 


234 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


Then every one sat round and heard all about the 
voyage home, — how the Captain had set his heart on 
getting there in time to keep Christmas ; how every 
thing had conspired to thwart his plan ; and how, at 
the very last minute, he had managed to do it, and 
had sent a telegram to Archie, bidding him keep the 
secret, and be ready for his father at any moment, for 
the ship got into another port, and he might be late. 

Then Archie told how that telegram had burnt in 
his pocket all dinner-time ; how he had to take Phebe 
into his confidence, and how clever she was to keep the 
Captain back till the speech was over, and he could 
come in with effect. 

The elders would have sat and talked all the even- 
ing, but the young folks were bent on having their 
usual Christmas frolic ; so, after an hour of pleasant 
chat, they began to get restless, and having consulted 
together in dumb show, they devised a way to very 
effectually break up the family council. 

Steve vanished, and, sooner than the boys imagined 
Dandy could get himself up, the skirl of the bag-pipe 
was heard in the hall, and the bonny piper came to 
lead Clan Campbell to the revel. 

“ Draw it mild, Stenie, my man ; ye play unco weel, 
but ye mak a most infernal din,” cried Uncle Jem, 
with his hands over his ears, for this accomplishment 
was new to him, and “ took him all aback,” as he ex- 
pressed it. 

So Steve droned out a Highland reel as softly as he 
could, and the boys danced it to a circle of admiring 
relations. Captain Jem was a true sailor, however, 
and could not stand idle while any thing lively was 


UNDER THE MISTLETOE. 


235 


going on ; so, when the piper’s breath gave out, he 
cut a splendid pigeon-wing into the middle of the hall, 
saying, “Who can dance a Fore and After?” and, 
waiting for no reply, began to whistle the air so invit- 
ingly that Mrs. Jessie “set” to him laughing like a 
girl ; Rose and Charlie took their places behind, and 
away went the four with a spirit and skill that inspired 
all the rest to “ cut in ” as fast as they could. 

That was a grand beginning, and they had many 
another dance before any one would own they were 
tired. Even Fun See distinguished himself with Aunt 
Plenty, whom he greatly admired as the stoutest lady 
in the company ; plumpness being considered a beauty 
in his country. The merry old soul professed herself 
immensely flattered by his admiration, and the boys 
declared she “ set her cap at him,” else he would never 
have dared to catch her under the mistletoe, and, ris- 
ing on the tips of his own toes, gallantly salute her fat 
cheek. 

How they all laughed at her astonishment, and how 
Fun’s little black eyes twinkled over this exploit! 
Charlie put him up to it, and Charlie was so bent on 
catching Rose, that he laid all sorts of pitfalls for her, 
and bribed the other lads to help him. But Rose was 
wide-awake, and escaped all his snares, professing great 
contempt for such foolish customs. Poor Phebe did 
not fare so well, and Archie was the one who took a 
base advantage of her as she stood innocently offering 
tea to Aunt Myra, whom she happened to -meet just 
under the fatal bough. If his father’s arrival had not 
rather upset him, I doubt if the dignified Chief would 
have done it, for he apologized at once in the hand- 


236 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


somest manner, and caught the tray that nearly dropped 
from Phebe’s hands. 



Jamie boldly invited all the ladies to come and salute 
* J iin ; au^ as f° r Uncle Jem, he behaved as if the entire 


UNDER THE MISTLETOE. 


237 


Toom was a grove of mistletoe. Uncle Alec slyly laid 
a bit of it on Aunt Peace’s cap, and then softly kissed 
her; which little joke seemed to please her very much, 
foa* she liked to have part in all the home pastimes, 
and Alec was her favorite nephew. 

Charlie alone failed to catch his shy bird, and the 
oftener she escaped the more determined he was to 
ensnare her. When every other wile had been tried 
in vain, he got Archie to propose a game with for- 
feits. 

“ I understand that dodge,” thought Rose, and was 
on her guard so carefully that not one among the pile 
soon collected belonged to her. 

“Now let us redeem them and play something else,” 
said Will, quite unconscious of the deeply laid plots 
all about him. 

“ One more round and then we will,” answered the 
Prince, who had now baited his trap anew. 

Just as the question came to Rose, Jamie’s voice 
was heard in the hall crying distressfully, “ Oh, come 
quick, quick ! ” Rose started up, missed the question, 
and was greeted with a general cry of “ Forfeit ! 
forfeit!” in which the little traitor came to join. 

“ Now I ’ve got her,” thought the young rascal, 
exulting in his fun-loving soul. 

“Now I’m lost,” thought Rose, as she gave up her 
pin-cushion with a sternly defiant look that would have 
daunted any one but the reckless Prince. In fact, it 
made even him think twice, and resolve to “ let Rose 
off easy,” she had been so clever. 

“ Here ’s a very pretty pawn, and what shall be 
done to redeem it?” asked Steve, holding the pin- 


238 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


cushion over Charlie’s head, for he had insisted on 
being judge, and kept that for the last. 

“ Fine or superfine ? ” 

“ Super.” 

“ Hum, well, she shall take old Mac under the 
mistletoe and kiss him prettily. Won’t he be mad, 
though ? ” — and this bad boy chuckled over the dis- 
comfort he had caused two harmless beings. 

There was an impressive pause among the young 
folks in their corner, for they all knew that Mac 
would “be mad,” since he hated nonsense of this 
sort, and had gone to talk with the elders when 
the game began. At this moment he was standing 
before the fire, listening to a discussion between his 
uncles and his father, looking as wise as a young 
owl, and blissfully unconscious of the plots against 
him. 

Charlie expected that Rose would say, “ I won’t ! ” 
therefore he was rather astonished, not to say grati- 
fied, when, after a look at the victim, she laughed 
suddenly, and, going up to the group of gentlemen, 
drew her uncle Mac under the mistletoe and surprised 
him with a hearty kiss. 

w Thank you, my dear,” said the innocent gentle- 
man, looking much pleased at the unexpected honor. 

“ Oh, come ; that ’s not fair,” began Charlie. But 
Rose cut him short by saying, as she made him a fine 
courtesy, — 

“You said ‘Old Mac,’ and though it was very 
disrespectful, I did it. That was your last chance, 
sir, and you’ve lost it.” 

He certainly had, for, as she spoke, Rose pulled 


UNDER THE MISTLETOE . 


239 


down the mistletoe and threw it into the fire, while 
the hoys jeered at the crest-fallen Prince, and exalted 
quick-witted Rose to the skies. 

“What’s the joke?” asked young Mac, waked 
out of a brown study by the laughter, in which the 
elders joined. 

But there was a regular shout when, the matter 
having been explained to him, Mac took a medi- 
tative stare at Rose through his goggles, and said in 
a philosophical tone, “ Well, I don’t think I should 
have minded much if she had done it.” 

That tickled the lads immensely, and nothing but 
the appearance of a slight refection would have in- 
duced them to stop chaffing the poor Worm, who 
could not see any thing funny in the beautiful resig- 
nation he had shown on this trying occasion. 

Soon after this, the discovery of Jamie curled up 
in the sofa corner, as sound asleep as a dormouse, 
suggested the propriety of going home, and a general 
move was made. 

They were all standing about the hall lingering 
over the good-nights, when the sound of a voice 
softly singing “ Sweet Home,” made them pause 
and listen. It was Phebe, poor little Phebe, who 
never had a home, never knew the love of father 
or mother, brother or sister; who stood all alone 
in the wide world, yet was not sad nor afraid, but 
took her bits of happiness gratefully, and sung over 
her work without a thought of discontent. 

I fancy the happy family standing there together 
remembered this and felt the beauty of it, for when 
the solitary voice came to the burden of its song, 


240 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


other voices took it up and finished it so sweetly, 
that the old house seemed to echo the word “ Home ” 
in the ears of both the orphan girls, who had just 
spent their first Christmas under its hospitable roo£ 


CHAPTER XXL 


A SCARE . 

(l T3 ROTHER ALEC, you surely don’t mean to 

-L' allow that child to go out such a bitter cold 
day as this,” said Mrs. Myra, looking into the study, 
where the Doctor sat reading his paper, one February 
morning. 

“ Why not ? If a delicate invalid like yourself can 
bear it, surely my hearty girl can, especially as she is 
dressed for cold weather,” answered Dr. Alec with 
provoking confidence. 

“ But you have no idea how sharp the wind is. I 
am chilled to the very marrow of my bones,” answered 
Aunt Myra, chafing the end of her purple nose with 
her sombre glove. 

“ I don’t doubt it, ma’am, if you will wear crape and 
silk instead of fur and flannel. Rosy goes out in all 
weathers, and will be none the worse for an hour’s 
brisk skating.” 

“ Well, I warn you that you are trifling with the 
child’s health, and depending too much on the seeming 
improvement she has made this year. She is a delicate 
creature for all that, and will drop away suddenly at 
the first serious attack, as her poor mother did,” croaked 
Aunt Myra, with a despondent wag of the big bonnet. 

11 p 


242 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ I ’ll risk it,” answered Dr. Alec, knitting his brows, 
as he always did when any allusion was made to that 
other Rose. 

“Mark my words, you will repent it,” and, with 
that awful prophecy, Aunt Myra departed like a black 
shadow. 

Now it must be confessed that among the Doctor’s 
failings — and he had his share — was a very masculine 
dislike of advice which was thrust upon him unasked. 
He always listened with respect to the great-aunts, and 
often consulted Mrs. Jessie ; but the other three ladies 
tried his patience sorely, by constant warnings, com- 
plaints, and counsels. Aunt Myra was an especial 
trial, and he always turned contrary the moment she 
began to talk. He could not help it, and often laughed 
about it with comic frankness. Here now was a sample 
of it, for he had just been thinking that Rose had 
better defer her run till the wind went down and the 
sun was warmer. But Aunt Myra spoke, and he could 
not resist the temptation to make light of her advice, 
and let Rose brave the cold. He had no fear of its 
harming her, for she went out every day, and it was 
a great satisfaction to him to see her run down the 
avenue a minute afterward, with her skates on her 
arm, looking like a rosy-faced Esquimaux in her seal- 
skin suit, as she smiled at Aunt Myra stalking along 
as solemnly as a crow. 

“ I hope the child won’t stay out long, for this wind 
is enough to chill the marrow in younger bones than 
Myra’s,” thought Dr. Alec, half an hour later, as he 
drove toward the city to see the few patients he had 
consented to take for old acquaintance’ sake. 


A SCARE . 


243 


The thought returned several times that morning, 
for it was truly a bitter day, and, in spite of his bear- 
skin coat, the Doctor shivered. But he had great 
faith in Rose’s good sense, and it never occurred to 
him that she was making a little Casabianca of herself, 
with the difference of freezing instead of burning at 
her post. 

You see, Mac had made an appointment to meet 
her at a certain spot, and have a grand skating bout 
as soon as the few lessons he was allowed were over. 
She had promised to wait for him, and did so with a 
faithfulness that cost her dear, because Mac forgot his 
appointment when the lessons were done, and became 
absorbed in a chemical experiment, till a general com- 
bustion of gases drove him out of his laboratory. 
Then he suddenly remembered Rose, and would gladly 
have hurried away to her, but his mother forbade his 
going out, for the sharp wind would hurt his eyes. 

“ She will wait and wait, mother, for she always 
keeps her word, and I told her to hold on till I came,” 
explained Mac, with visions of a shivering little figure 
watching on the windy hill-top. 

“ Of course, your uncle won’t let her go out such a 
day as this. If he does, she will have the sense to 
iCome here for you, or to go home again when you 
don’t appear,” said Aunt Jane, returning to her “ Watts 
on the Mind.” 

“ I wish Steve would just cut up and see if she’s 
there, since I can’t go,” began Mac, anxiously. 

“ Steve won’t stir a peg, thank you. He ’s got his 
own toes to thaw out, and wants his dinner,” answered 
Dandy, just in from school, and wrestling impatiently 
with his boots. 


244 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


So Mac resigned himself, and Rose waited dutifully 
till dinner-time assured her that her waiting was in 
vain. She had done her best to keep warm, had skated 
till she was tired and hot, then stood watching others 



till she was chilled ; tried to get up a glow again by 
trotting up and down the road, but failed to do so, 
and finally cuddled disconsolately under a pine-tree to 
wait and watch When she at length started for 


A SCARE. 


245 


home, she was benumbed with the cold, and could 
hardly make her way against the wind that buffeted 
the frost-bitten rose most unmercifully. 

Dr. Alec was basking in the warmth of the study 
fire, after his drive, when the sound of a stifled sob 
made him hurry to the door and look anxiously into 
the hall. Rose lay in a shivering bunch near the 
register, with her things half off, wringing her hands, 
and trying not to cry with the pain returning warmth 
brought to her half-frozen fingers. 

“ My darling, what is it ? ” and Uncle Alec had her 
in his arms in a minute. 

“ Mac did n’t come — I can ’t get warm — the fire 
makes me ache ! ” and with a long shiver Rose burst 
out crying, while her teeth chattered, and her poor 
little nose was so blue, it made one’s heart ache to 
see it. 

In less time than it takes to tell it, Dr. Alec had her 
on the sofa rolled up in the bear-skin coat, with Phebe 
rubbing her cold feet while he rubbed the aching hands, 
and Aunt Plenty made a comfortable hot drink, and 
Aunt Peace sent down her own foot-warmer and em- 
broidered blanket “ for the dear.” 

Full of remorseful tenderness, Uncle Alec worked 
over his new patient till she declared she was all right 
again. He would not let her get up to dinner, but fed 
her himself, and then forgot his own while he sat 
watching her fall into a drowse, for Aunt Plenty’s 
cordial made her sleepy. 

She lay so several hours, for the drowse deepened 
into a heavy sleep, and Uncle Alec, still at his post, 
saw with growing anxiety that a feverish color began 


246 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


to burn in her cheeks, that her breathing was quick 
and uneven, and now and then she gave a little moan, 
as if in pain. Suddenly she woke up with a start, and 
seeing Aunt Plenty bending over her, put out her arms 
like a sick child, saying wearily, — 

“ Please, could I go to bed ? ” 

“ The best place for you, deary. Take her right up, 
Alec ; I ’ve got the hot water ready, and after a nice 
bath, she shall have a cup of my sage tea, and be rolled 
up in blankets to sleep off her cold,” answered the old 
lady, cheerily, as she bustled away to give orders. 

“Are you in pain, darling?” asked Uncle Alec, as 
he carried her up. 

“ My side aches when I breathe, and I feel stiff and 
queer ; but it is n’t bad, so don’t be troubled, uncle,” 
whispered Rose, with a little hot hand against his 
cheek. 

But the poor Doctor did look troubled, and had 
cause to do so, for just then Rose tried to laugh at 
Dolly charging into the room with a warming-pan, but 
could not, for the sharp pain that took her breath 
away, and made her cry out. 

“ Pleurisy,” sighed Aunt Plenty, from the depths of 
the bath-tub. 

“Pewmonia!” groaned Dolly, burrowing among 
the bedclothes with the long-handled pan, as if bent 
on fishing up that treacherous disease. 

“Oh, is it bad?” asked Phebe, nearly dropping a 
pail of hot water in her dismay, for she knew nothing 
of sickness, and Dolly’s suggestion had a peculiarly 
dreadful sound to her. 

“ Hush ! ” ordered the Doctor, in a tone that silenced 


A SCARE. 247 

all further predictions, and made every one work with 
a will. 

“Make her as comfortable as you can, and when 
she is in her little bed I ’ll come and say good-night,” 
he added, when the bath was ready and the blankets 
browning nicely before the fire. 

Then he went away to talk quite cheerfully to Aunt 
Peace about its being “ only a chill ; ” after which he 
tramped up and down the hall, pulling his beard and 
knitting his brows, sure signs of great inward pertur- 
bation. 

“ I thought it would be too good luck to get through 
the year without a downfall. Confound my perver- 
sity ! why could n’t I take Myra’s advice and keep Rose 
at home. It’s not fair that the poor child should 
suffer for my sinful over-confidence. She shall not 
suffer for it! Pneumonia, indeed! I defy it!” and 
he shook his fist in the ugly face of an Indian idol 
that happened to be before him, as if that particularly 
hideous god had some spite against his own little god- 
dess. 

In spite of his defiance his heart sunk when he saw 
Rose again, for the pain was worse, and the bath and 
blankets, the warming-pan and piping-hot sage tea, 
were all in vain. For several hours there was no rest 
for the poor child, and all manner of gloomy forebod- 
ings haunted the minds of those who hovered about 
her with faces full of the tenderest anxiety. 

In the midst of the worst paroxysm Charlie came to 
leave a message from his mother, and was met by 
Phebe coming despondently downstairs with a mus- 
tard plaster that had brought no relief. 


248 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


“ What the dickens is the matter? You look as dis- 
mal as a tombstone,” he said, as she held up her hand 
to stop his lively whistling. 

“ Miss Rose is dreadful sick.” 

“ The deuce she is ! ” 

“ Don’t swear, Mr. Charlie ; she really is, and it ’s 
Mr. Mac’s fault,” and Phebe told the sad tale in a few 
sharp words, for she felt at war with the entire race of 
boys at that moment. 

“I’ll give it to him, make your mind easy about 
that,” said Charlie, with an ominous doubling up of 
his fist. “ But Rose is n’t dangerously ill, is she ? ” he 
added anxiously, as Aunt Plenty was seen to trot 
across the upper hall, shaking a bottle violently as she 
went. 

“Oh, but she is, though. The Doctor don’t say 
much, but he don’t call it a ‘ chill ’ any more. It ’s 
‘ pleurisy ’ now, and I ’m so afraid it will be pewmonia 
to-morrow,” answered Phebe, with a despairing glance 
at the plaster. 

Charlie exploded into a stifled laugh at the new pro- 
nunciation of pneumonia, to Phebe’s great indigna- 
tion. 

“ How can you have the heart to do it, and she in 
such horrid pain ? Hark to that, and then laugh if you 
darst,” she said with a tragic gesture, and her black 
eyes full of fire. 

Charlie listened and heard little moans that went to 
his heart and made his face as sober as Phebe’s. “ O 
uncle, please stop the pain and let me rest a minute ! 
Don’t tell the boys I was n’t brave. I try io bear it, 
but it ’s so sharp I can’t help crying.” 


A SCARE. 


249 


Neither could Charlie, when he heard the broken 
voice say that ; but, boy-like, he would n’t own it, and 
said pettishly, as he rubbed his sleeve across his eyes, — 

“ Don’t hold that confounded thing right under my 
nose ; the mustard makes my eyes smart.” 

“Don’t see how it can, when it hasn’t any more 
strength in it than meal. The Doctor said so, and I ’m 
going to get some better,” began Pliebe, not a bit 
ashamed of the great tears that were bedewing the 
condemned plaster. 

“ I ’ll go ! ” and Charlie was off like a shot, glad of 
an excuse to get out of sight for a few minutes. 

When he came back all inconvenient emotion had 
been disposed of, and, having delivered a box of the 
hottest mustard procurable for money, he departed to 
“ blow up ” Mac, that being his next duty in his opin- 
ion. He did it so energetically and thoroughly, that 
the poor Worm was cast into the depths of remorseful 
despair, and went to bed that evening feeling that he 
was an outcast from among men, and bore the mark of 
Cain upon his brow. 

Thanks to the skill of the Doctor, and the devotion 
of his helpers, Rose grew easier about midnight, and 
all hoped that the worst was over. Phebe was making 
tea by the study fire, for the Doctor had forgotten to 
eat and drink since Rose was ill, and Aunt Plenty in- 
sisted on his having a “ good, cordial dish of tea ” after 
his exertions. A tap on the window startled Phebe, 
and, looking up, she saw a face peering in. She was 
not afraid, for a second look showed her that it was 
neither ghost nor burglar, but Mac, looking pale and 
wild in the wintry moonlight. 


250 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ Come and let a fellow in,” lie said in a low tone, 
and when he stood in the hall he clutched Phebe’s arm, 
whispering gruffly, “ How is Rose ? ” 

“Thanks be to goodness, she’s better,” answered 
Phebe, with a smile that was like broad sunshine to 
the poor lad’s anxious heart. 

“ And she will be all right again to-morrow ? ” 

“ Oh, dear, no. Dolly says she ’s sure to have rheu- 
matic fever, if she don’t have rioo-monia ! ” answered 
Phebe, careful to pronounce the word rightly this 
time. 

Down went Mac’s face, and remorse began to gnaw 
at him again as he gave a great sigh and said doubt- 
fully, — 

“ I suppose I could n’t see her ? ” 

“ Of course not at this time of night, when we want 
her to go to sleep ! ” 

Mac opened his mouth to say something more, when 
a sneeze came upon him unawares, and a loud “ Ah 
rash hoo ! ” awoke the echoes of the quiet house. 

“ Why did n’t you stop it ? ” said Phebe reproach- 
fully. “ I dare say you ’ve waked her up.” 

“Didn’t know it was coming. Just my luck!” 
groaned Mac, turning to go before his unfortunate 
presence did more harm. 

But a voice from the stair-head called softly, “ Mac, 
come up ; Rose wants to see you.” 

Up he went, and found his uncle waiting for him. 

“What brings you here, at this hour, my boy?” 
asked the Doctor in a whisper. 

“ Charlie said it was all my fault, and if she died I ’d 
killed her. I could n’t sleep, so I came to see how she 


A SCARE. 


251 


was, and no one knows it but Steve,” he said with such 
a troubled face and voice that the Doctor had not the 
heart to blame him. 

Before he could say any thing more a feeble voice 
called “Mac ! ” and with a hasty “ Stay a minute just 
to please her, and then slip away, for I want her to 
sleep,” the Doctor led him into the room. 

The face on the pillow looked very pale and 
childish, and the smile that welcomed Mac was very 
faint, for Rose was spent with pain, yet could not 
rest till she had said a word of comfort to her cousin. 

“ I knew your funny sneeze, and I guessed that 
you came to see how I did, though it is very late. 
Don’t be worried. I’m better now, and it is my 
fault I was ill, not yours ; for I need n’t have been 
so silly as to wait in the cold just because I said I 
would.” 

Mac hastened to explain, to load himself with 
reproaches, and to beg her not to die on any ac- 
count, for Charlie’s lecture had made a deep im- 
pression on the poor boy’s mind. 

“I didn’t know there was any danger of my 
dying,” and Rose looked up at him with a solemn 
expression in her great eyes. 

“ Oh, I hope not ; but people do sometimes go 
suddenly, you know, and I couldn’t rest till I’d 
asked you to forgive me,” faltered Mac, thinking 
that Rose looked very like an angel already, with 
the golden hair loose on the pillow, and the meek- 
ness of suffering on her little white face. 

“ I don’t think I shall die ; uncle won’t let me ; 
but if I do, remember I forgave you.” 


252 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


She looked at him with a tender light in her eyes, 
and, seeing how pathetic his dumb grief was, she 
added softly, drawing his head down : “ I would n’t 
kiss you under the mistletoe, but I will now, for 
I want you to be sure I do forgive and love you just 
the same.” 

That quite upset poor Mac ; he could only murmur 
his thanks and get out of the room as fast as possible* 
to grope his way to the couch at the far end of the 
hall, and lie there till he fell asleep, worn out with 
trying not to “make a baby” of himself. 


CHAPTER XXII. 


SOMETHING TO DO. 

*YT^HATEVER danger there might have been from 
the effects of that sudden chill, it was soon 
over, though of course Aunt Myra refused to be- 
lieve it, and Dr. Alec cherished his girl with re- 
doubled vigilance and tenderness for months after- 
ward. Rose quite enjoyed being sick, because as 
soon as the pain ended the fun began, and for a week 
or two she led the life of a little princess secluded 
in the Bower, while every one served, amused, and 
watched over her in the most delightful manner. 
But the Doctor was called away to see an old friend 
who was dangerously ill, and then Rose felt like a 
young bird deprived of its mother’s sheltering wing; 
especially on one afternoon when the aunts were taking 
their naps, and the house was very still within while 
snow fell softly without. 

“I’ll go and hunt up Phebe, she is always nice 
and busy, and likes to have me help her. If Dolly 
is out of the way we can make caramels and surprise 
the boj’s when they come,” Rose said to herself, as 
she threw down her book and felt ready for society 
of some sort. 


254 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


She took the precaution to peep through the slide 
before she entered the kitchen, for Dolly allowed 
no messing when she was round. But the coast was 
clear, and no one but Phebe appeared, sitting at 
the table with her head on her arms apparently 
asleep. Rose was just about to wake her with a 
“ Boo ! ” when she lifted her head, dried her wet 
eyes with her blue apron, and fell to work with a 
resolute face on something she was evidently much 
interested in. Rose could not make out what it 
was, and her curiosity was greatly excited, for Phebe 
was writing with a sputtering pen on some bits of 
brown paper, apparently copying something from a 
little book. 

“I must know what the dear thing is about, and 
why she cried, and then set her lips tight and went 
to work with all her might,” thought Rose, forgetting 
all about the caramels, and, going round to the door, 
she entered the kitchen, saying pleasantly, — 

“Phebe, I want something to do. Can’t you let 
me help you about any thing? or shall I be in the 
way ? ” 

“ Oh, dear, no, miss ; I always love to have you 
round when things are tidy. What would you like 
to do ? ” answered Phebe, opening a drawer as if 
about to sweep her own affairs out of sight : but Rose 
stopped her, exclaiming, like a curious child, — 

“ Let me see ! What is it ? I won’t tell if you ’d 
rather not have Dolly know.” 

“ I ’m only trying to study a bit ; but I ’m so stupid 
I don’t get on much,” answered the girl reluctantly, 
permitting her little mistress to examine the poor 
pontrivnnces she was trying to work with. 


SOMETHING TO DO. 


255 


A broken slate that had blown off the roof, an 
inch or two of pencil, an old almanac for a reader, 
several bits of brown or yellow paper ironed smoothly 
and sewed together for a copy-book, and the copies 
sundry receipts written in Aunt Plenty’s neat hand. 
These, with a small bottle of ink and a rusty pen, 
made up Phebe’s outfit, and it was little wonder that 
she did not “ get on ” in spite of the patient per- 
sistence that dried the desponding tears and drove 
along the sputtering pen with a will. 

“You may laugh if you want to, Miss Rose, I 
know my things are queer, and that ’s why I hide 
’em ; but I don’t mind since you ’ve found me out, 
and I ain’t a bit ashamed except of being so back- 
ward at my age,” said Phebe humbly, though her 
cheeks grew redder as she washed out some crooked 
capitals with a tear or two not yet dried upon the 
slate. 

« Laugh at you ! I feel more like crying to think 
what a selfish girl I am, to have loads of books and 
things and never remember to give you some. Why 
didn’t you come and ask me, and not go struggling 
along alone in this way ? It was very wrong of you, 
Phebe, and I ’ll never forgive you if you do so again,” 
answered Rose, with one hand on Phebe s shoulder 
while the other gently turned the leaves of the poor 
little copy-book. 

“I didn’t like to ask for any thing more when 
you are so good to me all the time, miss, dear,” 
began Phebe, looking up with grateful eyes. 

“O you proud thing! just as if it wasn’t fun to 
give away, and I had the best of it. Now, see here, 


256 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


I’ve got a plan and you mustn’t say no, or I shall 
scold. I want something to do, and I’m going to 
teach you all I know ; it won’t take long,” and Rose 
laughed as she put her arm around Phebe’s neck, and 
patted the smooth dark head with the kind little hand 
that so loved to give. 

“ It would be just heavenly ! ” and Phebe’s face 
shone at the mere idea; but fell again as she added 
wistfully, “ Only I ’m afraid I ought not to let you 
do it, Miss Rose. It will take time, and maybe the 
Doctor wouldn’t like it.” 

“ He did n’t want me to study much, but he never 
said a word about teaching, and I don’t believe he 
will mind a bit. Any way, we can try it till he comes, 
so pack up your things and go right to my room and 
we ’ll begin this very day ; I ’d truly like to do it, 
and we ’ll have nice times, see if we don’t ! ” cried 
Rose eagerly. 

It was a pretty sight to see Phebe bundle her 
humble outfit into her apron, and spring up as if 
the desire of her heart had suddenly been made a 
happy fact to her ; it was a still prettier sight to see 
Rose run gayly on before, smiling like a good fairy 
as she beckoned to the other, singing as she went, — 

“ The way into my parlor is up a winding stair, 

And many are the curious things I ’ll show you when you ’re 
there. 

Will you, will you walk in, Phebe dear ? ” 

“ Oh, won’t I ! ” answered Phebe fervently, adding, 
as they entered the Bower, “You are the dearest 
spider that ever was, and I’m the happiest fly.” 

“ I’m going to be very strict, so sit down in that 


SOMETHING TO DO. 


257 


chair and don’t say a word till school is ready to 
open,” ordered Rose, delighted with the prospect of 
such a useful and pleasant 44 something to do.” 

So Phebe sat demurely in her place while her new 
teacher laid forth books and slates, a pretty inkstand 
and a little globe ; hastily tore a bit off her big sponge, 
sharpened pencils with more energy than skill, and 
when all was ready gave a prance of satisfaction that 
set the pupil laughing. 

“ Now the school is open, and I shall hear you read, 
so that I may know in which class to put you, Miss 
Moore,” began Rose with great dignity, as she laid a 
book before her scholar, and sat down in the easy chair 
with a long rule in her hand. 

Phebe did pretty well, only tripping now and then 
over a hard word, and pronouncing identical “ iden- 
tickle,” in a sober way that tickled Rose, though never 
a smile betrayed her. The spelling lesson which fol- 
lowed was rather discouraging ; Phebe’s ideas of geog- 
raphy were very vague, and grammar was nowhere, 
though the pupil protested that she tried so hard to 
“ talk nice like educated folks ” that Dolly called her 
“ a stuck-up piece who did n’t know her place.” 

“ Dolly ’s an old goose, so don’t you mind her, for 
she will say 4 nater,’ 4 vittles,’ and 4 doos ’ as long as 
she lives, and insist that they are right. You do talk 
very nicely, Phebe, I ’ve observed it, and grammar 
will help you, and show why some things are right and 
others ain’t, — are not, I mean,” added Rose, correcting 
herself, and feeling that she must mind her own parts 
of speech if she was to serve as an example for Phebe. 

When the arithmetic came the little teacher was 
Q 


258 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


surprised to find her scholar quicker in some things 
than herself, for Phebe had worked away at the col- 
umns in the butcher’s and baker’s books till she could 
add so quickly and correctly that Rose was amazed, 
and felt that in this branch the pupil would soon excel 
the teacher if she kept on at the same pace. Her 
praise cheered Phebe immensely, and they went bravely 
on, both getting so interested that time flew unheeded 
till Aunt Plenty appeared, exclaiming, as she stared at 
the two heads bent over one slate, — 

“ Bless my heart, what is going on now ? ” 

“ School, aunty. I ’m teaching Phebe, and it ’s 
great fun ! ” cried Rose, looking up with a bright 
face. 

But Phebe’s was brighter, though she added, with a 
wistful look, — 

“ Maybe I ought to have asked leave first ; only 
when Miss Rose proposed this, I was so happy I for- 
got to. Shall I stop, ma’am ? ” 

“ Of course not, child ; I ’m glad to see you fond of 
your book, and to find Rose helping you along. My 
blessed mother used to sit at work with her maids 
about her, teaching them many a useful thing in the 
good old fashion that’s gone by now. Only don’t 
neglect your work, dear, or let the books interfere 
with the duties.” 

As Aunt Plenty spoke, with her kind old face beam- 
ing approvingly upon the girls, Phebe glanced at the 
clock, saw that it pointed to five, knew that Dolly 
would soon be down, expecting to find preparations 
for supper under way, and, hastily dropping her pencil, 
she jumped up, saying, — 


SOMETHING TO DO. 


259 


“ Please, can I go ? I ’ll clear up after I ’ye done my 
chores.” 

“ School is dismissed,” answered Rose, and with a 
grateful “ Thank you, heaps and heaps ! ” Phebe ran 
away singing the multiplication table as she set the tea 
ditto. 

That was the way it began, and for a week the class 
of one went on with great pleasure and profit to all con- 
cerned ; for the pupil proved a bright one, and came 
to her lessons as to a feast, while the young teacher 
did her best to be worthy the high opinion held of her, 
for Phebe firmly believed that Miss Rose knew every 
thing in the way of learning. 

Of course the lads found out what was going on, 
and chaffed the girls about the “ Seminary,” as they 
called, the new enterprise ; but they thought it a good 
thing on the whole, kindly offered to give lessons in 
Greek and Latin gratis, and decided among themselves 
that “ Rose was a little trump to give the Phebe-bird 
such a capital boost.” 

Rose herself had some doubts as to how it would 
strike her uncle, and concocted a wheedlesome speech 
which should at once convince him that it was the 
most useful, wholesome, and delightful plan ever de- 
vised. But she got no chance to deliver her address, 
for Dr. Alec came upon her so unexpectedly that it 
went out of her head entirely. She was sitting on the 
floor in the library, poring over a big book laid open 
in her lap, and knew nothing of the long-desired arrival 
till two large, .warm hands met under her chin and 
gently turned her head back, so that some one could 
kiss her heartily on either cheek, while a fatherly voice 


260 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


said, half reproachfully, “Why is my girl brooding over 
a dusty Encyclopedia when she ought to be running to 
meet the old gentleman who could n’t get on another 
minute without her ? ” 

“O uncle! I’m so glad! and so sorry! Why 
did n’t you let us know what time you ’d be here, or 
call out the minute you came? Have n’t I been home- 
sick for you ? and now I ’m so happy to have you back 
I could hug your dear old curly head off,” cried Rose, 
as the Encyclopedia went down with a bang, and she 
up with a spring that carried her into Dr. Alec’s arms, 
to be kept there in the sort of embrace a man gives to 
the dearest creature the world holds for him. 

Presently he was in his easy chair with Rose upon 
his knee smiling up in his face and talking as fast as 
her tongue could go, while he watched her with an 
expression of supreme content, as he stroked the 
smooth round cheek, or held the little hand in his, 
rejoicing to see how rosy was the one, how plump and 
strong the other. 

“ Have you had a good time ? Hid you save the 
poor lady ? Are n!t you glad to be home again with 
your girl to torment you ? ” 

“Yes, to all those questions. Now tell me what 
you’ve been at, little sinner? Aunty Plen says you 
want to consult me about some new and remarkable 
project which you have dared to start in my absence.” 

“ She did n’t tell you, I hope ? ” 

“Not a word more except that you were rather 
doubtful how I ’d take it, and so wanted to ‘ fess ’ 
yourself and get round me as you always try to do y 
though you don’t often succeed. Now, then, own up 
and take the consequences.” 


SOMETHING TO DO. 


261 


So Hose told about her school in her pretty, earnest 
way, dwelling on Phebe’s hunger for knowledge, and 
the delight it was to help her, adding, with a wise 
nod, — 

“ And it helps me too, uncle, for she is so quick and 
eager I have to do my best or she will get ahead of 
me in some things. To-day, now, she had the word 
‘ cotton ’ in a lesson and asked all about it, and I was 
ashamed to find I really knew so little that I could 
only say that it was a plant that grew down South in 
a kind of a pod, and was made into cloth. That’s 
what I was reading up when you came, and to-morrow 
I shall tell her all about it, and indigo too. So you 
see it teaches me also, and is as good as a general 
review of what I ’ve learned, in a pleasanter way than 
going over it alone.” 

“You artful little baggage ! that’s the way you 
expect to get round me, is it ? That ’s not studying, I 
suppose ? ” 

“No, sir, it’s teaching; and please, I like it much 
better than having a good time all by myself. Besides, 
you know, I adopted Phebe and promised to be a sister 
to her, so I am bound to keep my word, am I not?” 
answered Rose, looking both anxious and resolute as 
she waited for her sentence. 

Dr. Alec was evidently already won, for Rose had 
described the old slate and brown paper copy-book 
with pathetic effect, and the excellent man had not 
only decided to send Phebe to school long before the 
story was done, but reproached himself for forgetting 
his duty to one little girl in his love for another. So 
when Rose tried to look meek and failed utterly, he 


262 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


laughed and pinched her cheek, and answered in that 
genial way which adds such warmth and grace to any 
favor, — 

“ I have n’t the slightest objection in the world. In 
fact, I was beginning to think I might let you go at 
your books again, moderately, since you are so well ; 
arid this is an excellent way to try your powers. Phebe 
is a brave, bright lass, and shall have a fair chance in 
the world, if we can give it to her, so that if she ever 
finds her friends they need not be ashamed of her.” 

41 1 think she has found some already,” began Rose 
eagerly. 

44 Hey ? what ? has any one turned up since I ’ve 
been gone ? ” asked Dr. Alec quickly, for it was a 
firm belief in the family that Phebe would prove to 
be 44 somebody ” sooner or later. 

44 No, her best friend turned up when you came 
home, uncle,” answered Rose with an approving pat, 
adding gratefully, 44 1 can’t half thank you for being 
so good to my girl, but she will, because I know she 
is going to make a woman to be proud of, she ’s so 
strong and true, and loving.” 

44 Bless your dear heart, I have n’t begun to do any 
thing yet, more shame to me ! But I ’m going at it 
now, and as soon as she gets on a bit, she shall go to 
school as long as she likes. How will that do for a 
beginning ? ” 

44 It will be 4 just heavenly,’ as Phebe says, for it is 
the wish of her life to 4 get lots of schooling,’ and she 
will be too happy when I tell her. May I, please ? — 
it will be so lovely to see the dear thing open her big 
eyes and clap her hands at the splendid news.” 


SOMETHING TO DO. 


263 


“ No one shall have a finger in this nice little pie ; 
you shall do it all yourself, only don’t go too fast, or 
make too many castles in the air, my dear ; for time 
and patience must go into this pie of ours if it is to 
turn out well.” 

“ Yes, uncle, only when it is opened won’t ‘ the birds 
begin to sing ? ’ ” laughed Rose, taking a turn about 
the room as a vent for the joyful emotions that made 
her eyes shine. All of a sudden she stopped and asked 
soberly, — 

“If Phebe goes to school who will do her work? 
I ’m willing, if I can.” 

“Come here and I’ll tell you a secret. Dolly’s 
4 bones ’ are getting so troublesome, and her dear old 
temper so bad, that the aunts have decided to pension 
her off and let her go and live with her daughter, who 
has married very well. I saw her this week, and she ’d 
like to have her mother come, so in the spring we shall 
have a grand change, and get a new cook and chamber- 
girl if any can be found to suit our honored relatives.” 

“ Oh, me ! how can I ever get on without Phebe ? 
Couldn’t she stay, just so I could see her? I ’d pay 
her board rather than have her go, I ’m so fond of 
her.” 

How Dr. Alec laughed at that proposal, and how 
satisfied Rose was when he explained that Phebe was 
still to be her maid, with no duties except such as she 
could easily perform between school-hours. 

“ She is a proud creature, for all her humble ways, 
and even from us would not take a favor if she did not 
earn it somehow. So this arrangement makes it all 
square and comfortable, you see, and she will pay for 


264 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


the schooling by curling these goldilocks a dozen times 
a day if you let her.” 

“Your plans are always so wise and kind ! That’s 
Why they work so well, I suppose, and why people let 
you do what you like with them. I really don’t see 
how other girls get along without an Uncle Alec ! ” 
answered Rose, with a sigh of pity for those who had 
missed so great a blessing. 

When Phebe was told the splendid news, she did 
not “stand on her head with rapture,” as Charlie 
prophesied she would, but took it quietly, because 
it was such a happy thing she had no words “ big 
and beautiful enough to thank them in,” she said*, 
but every hour of her day was brightened by this 
granted wish, and dedicated to the service of those 
who gave it. 

Her heart was so full of content that it overflowed 
in music, and the sweet voice singing all about the 
house gave thanks so blithely that no other words 
were needed. Her willing feet were never tired of 
taking steps for those who had smoothed her way ; her 
skilful hands were always busy in some labor of love 
for them, and on the face fast growing in comeliness 
there was an almost womanly expression of devotion, 
which proved how well Phebe had already learned 
one of life’s great lessons, — gratitude. 


CHAPTER XXIII. 


PEACE-MAKING. 

“ OTEVE, I want you to tell me something,” said 
Rose to Dandy, who was making faces at him- 
self in the glass, while he waited for an answer to the 
note he brought from his mother to Aunt Plenty. 

“ P’raps I will, and p’raps I won’t. What is it ? ” 

“ Have n’t Arch and Charlie quarrelled ? ” 

“ Dare say ; we fellows are always having little rows, 
you know. I do believe a sty is coming on my star- 
board eye,” and Steve affected to be absorbed in a 
survey of his yellow lashes. 

“ No, that won’t do ; I want to know all about it ; 
for I ’m sure something more serious than a ‘ little row ’ 
is the matter. Come, please tell me, Stenie, there ’s a 
dear.” 

“ Botheration ! you don’t want me to turn telltale, 
do you?” growled Steve, pulling his top-knot, as he 
always did when perplexed. 

“Yes, I do,” was Rose’s decided answer, — for she 
saw from his manner that she was right, and deter- 
mined to have the secret out of him if coaxing would 
do it. “ I don’t wish you to tell things to every one, of 
course, but to me you may, and you must, because I 
have a right to know. You boys need somebody to 
look after you, and I ’m going to do it, for girls are 


266 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


nice peace-makers, and know how to manage people. 
Uncle said so, and he is never wrong.” 

Steve was about to indulge in a derisive hoot at the 
idea of her looking after them, but a sudden thought 
restrained him, and suggested a way in which he could 
satisfy Rose, and better himself at the same time. 

“ What will you give me if I ’ll tell you every bit 
about it?” he asked, with a sudden red in his cheeks, 
and an uneasy look in his eyes, for he was half ashamed 
of the proposition. 

“ What do you want ? ” and Rose looked up rather 
surprised at his question. 

“ I ’d like to borrow some money. I should n’t 
think of asking you, only Mac never has a cent since 
he ’s set up his old chemical shop, where he ’ll blow 
himself to bits some day, and you and uncle will have 
the fun of putting him together again,” and Steve tried 
to look as if the idea amused him. 

“ I ’ll lend it to you with pleasure, so tell away,” said 
Rose, bound to get at the secret. 

Evidently much relieved by the promise, Steve set 
his top-knot cheerfully erect again, and briefly stated 
Che case. 

“ As you say, it ’s all right to tell you , but don’t let 
the boys know I blabbed, or Prince will take my head 
off. \ou see, Archie don’t like some of the fellows 
Charlie goes with, and cuts ’em. That makes Prince 
mad, and he holds on just to plague Arch, so they don’t 
speak to one another, if they can help it, and that ’s 
the row.” 

<£ Are those boys bad ? ” asked Rose, anxiously. * 

“ Guess not, only rather wild. They are older than 


PEACE-MAKING. 


267 


our fellows, but they like Prince, he’s such a jolly 
boy ; sings so well, dances jigs and breakdowns, you 
know, and plays any game that’s going. He beat 
Morse at billiards, and that’s something to brag of, 
for Morse thinks he knows every thing. I saw the 
match, and it was great fun ! ” 

Steve got quite excited over the prowess of Charlie, 
whom he admired immensely, and tried to imitate. 
Hose did not know half the danger of such gifts and 
tastes as Charlie’s, but felt instinctively that something 
must be wrong if Archie disapproved. 

“ If Prince likes any billiard-playing boy better than 
Archie, I don’t think much of his sense,” she said se- 
verely. 

“Of course he doesn’t; but, you see, Charlie and 
Arch are both as proud as they can be, and won’t give 
in. I suppose Arch is right, but I don’t blame Charlie 
a bit for liking to be with the others sometimes, they 
are such a jolly set,” and Steve shook his head morally, 
even while his eye twinkled over the memory of some 
of the exploits of the “jolly set.” 

“ Oh, dear me ! ” sighed Rose, “ I don’t see what I 
can do about it, but I wish the boys would make up, 
for Prince can’t come to any harm with Archie, he s 
so good and sensible.” 

“ That ’s the trouble ; Arch preaches, and Prince 
won’t stand it. He told Arch he was a prig and a 
parson, and Arch told him he wasn’t a gentleman. 
My boots ! were n’t they both mad though ! I thought 
for a minute they’d pitch into one another and have 
it out.. Wish they had, and not gone stalking round 
stiff and glum ever since. Mac and I settle our rows 


268 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


with a bat or so over the head, and then we are all 
right.” 



Rose could n’t help laughing as Steve sparred away 
at a fat sofa-pillow, to illustrate his meaning , and, hav- 
ing given it several scientific whacks, he pulled down 


PEACE-MAKING. 


269 


his cuffs and smiled upon her with benign pity for her 
feminine ignorance of this summary way of settling 
a quarrel. 

“ What droll things boys are ! ” she said, with a mix- 
ture of admiration and perplexity in her face, which 
Steve accepted as a compliment to his sex. 

“We are a pretty clever invention, miss, and you 
can’t get on without us,” he answered, with his nose in 
the air. Then, taking a sudden plunge into business, 
he added, “ How about that bit of money you were 
going to lend me? I’ve told, now you pay up.” 

“ Of course I will ! How much do you want?” and 
Rose pulled out her purse. 

“ Could you spare five dollars? I want to pay a 
little debt of honor that is rather pressing,” and Steve 
put on a mannish air that was comical to see. 

“ Are n’t all debts honorable? ” asked innocent Rose. 

“ Yes, of course ; but this is a bet I made, and it 
ought to be settled up at once,” began Steve, finding it 
awkward to explain. 

“ Oh, don’t bet, it ’s not right, and I know your father 
would n’t like it. Promise you won’t do so again, please 
promise ! ” and Rose held fast the hand into which she 
had just put the money. 

“ Well, I won’t. It’s worried me a good deal, but I 
was joked into it. Much obliged, cousin, I ’m all right 
now,” and Steve departed hastily. 

Having decided to be a peace-maker, Rose waited for 
an opportunity, and very soon it came. 

She was spending the day with Aunt Clara, whc 
had been entertaining some young guests, and invited 
Rose tD meet them, for she thought it high time her 


270 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


niece conquered her bashfulness, and saw a little of 
society. Dinner was over, and every one had gone. 
Aunt Clara was resting before going out to an evening 
party, and Rose was waiting for Charlie to come and 
take her home. 

She sat alone in the elegant drawing-room, feeling 
particularly nice and pretty, for she had her best frock 
on, a pair of gold bands her aunt had just given her, 
and a tea-rose bud in her sash, like the beautiful Miss 
Van Tassel, whom every one admired. She had spread 
out her little skirts to the best advantage, and, leaning 
back in a luxurious chair, sat admiring her own feet in 
new slippers with rosettes almost as big as dahlias. 
Presently Charlie came lounging in, looking rather 
sleepy and queer, Rose thought. On seeing her, how- 
ever, he roused up and said with a smile that ended in 
a gape, — 

“ I thought you were with mother, so I took forty 
winks after I got those girls off. Now, I ’m at your 
service, Rosamunda, whenever you like.” 

“You look as if your head ached. If it does, don’t 
mind me. I ’m not afraid to run home alone, it ’s so 
early,” answered Rose, observing the flushed cheeks 
and heavy eyes of her cousin. 

“ I think I see myself letting you do it. Champagne 
always makes my head ache, but the air will set me 
up.” 

“Why do you drink it, then?” asked Rose, anx- 
iously. 

“ Can’t help it, when I ’m host. Now, don’t you 
begin to lecture; I’ve had enough of Archie’s old 
fashioned notions, and I don’t want any more.” 


PEACE-MAKING. 


271 


Charlie’s tone was decidedly cross, and his whole 
manner so unlike his usual merry good-nature, that 
Rose felt crushed, and answered meekly, — 

“ I was n’t going to lecture, only when people like 
other people, they can’t bear to see them suffer pain.” 

That brought Charlie round at once, for Rose’s lips 
trembled a little, though she tried to hide it by smelling 
the flower she pulled from her sash. 

“I’m a regular bear, and I beg your pardon for 
being so cross, Rosy,” he said in the old frank way 
that was so winning. 

“ I wish you ’d beg Archie’s too, and be good friends 
again. You never were cross when he was your chum,” 
Rose said, looking up at him as he bent toward her 
from the low chimney-piece, where he had been leaning 
his elbows. 

In an instant he stood as stiff and straight as a ram- 
rod, and the heavy eyes kindled with an angry spark 
as he said, in his high and mighty manner, — 

“You’d better not meddle with what you don’t 
understand, cousin.” * 

“ But I do understand, and it troubles me very much 
to see you so cold and stiff to one another. Y ou 
always used to be together, and now you hardly speak. 
You are so ready to beg my pardon I don’t see why 
you can’t beg Archie’s, if you are in the wrong. 

« X ’m not ! ” this was so short and sharp that Rose 
started, and Charlie added in a calmer but still very 
haughty tone: “A gentleman always begs pardon 
when he has been rude to a lady, but one man does n’t 
apologize to another man who has insulted him. 

“ Oh, my heart, what a pepperpot ! ” thought Rose, 


272 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


and, hoping to make him laugh, she added slyly : “ I 
was not talking about men, but boys, and one of them 
a Prince, who ought to set a good example to his 
subjects.” 

But Charlie would not relent, and tried to turn the 
subject by saying gravely, as he unfastened the little 
gold ring from his watch-guard, — 

“ I ’ve broken my word, so I want to give this back 
and free you from the bargain. I ’m sorry, but I think 
it a foolish promise, and don’t intend to keep it. Choose 
a pair of ear-rings to suit yourself, as my forfeit. You 
have a right to wear them now.” 

“ No, I can only wear one, and that is no use, for 
Archie will keep his word I ’m sure ! ” Rose was so 
mortified and grieved at this downfall of her hopes 
that she spoke sharply, and would not take the ring 
the deserter offered her. 

He shrugged his shoulders, and threw it into her 
lap, trying to look cool and careless, but failing entirely, 
for he was ashamed of himself, and out of sorts generally. 
Rose wanted to cry, but pride would not let her, and, 
being very angry, she relieved herself by talk instead 
of tears. Looking pale and excited, she rose out of 
her chair, cast away the ring, and said in a voice that 
she vainly tried to keep steady, — 

u You are not at all the boy I thought you were, 
and I don’t respect you one bit. I ’ve tried to help 
you be good, but you won’t let me, and I shall not 
try any more. You talk a great deal about being a 
gentleman, but you are not, for you ’ve broken your 
word, and I can never trust you again. I don’t wish 
you to go home with me. I’d rather have Mary. 
Good-night.” 


PEACE-MAKING. 


273 


And with that last dreadful blow, Rose walked out 
of the room, leaving Charlie as much astonished as if 
one of his pet pigeons had flown in his face and pecked 
at him. She was so seldom angry, that when her 
temper did get the better of her it made a deep im- 
pression on the lads, for it was generally a righteous 
sort of indignation at some injustice or wrong-doing, 
not childish passion. 

Her little thunder-storm cleared off in a sob or two 
as she put on her things in the entry-closet, and when 
she emerged she looked the brighter for the shower. 
A hasty good-night to Aunt Clara, — now under the 
hands of the hair-dresser, — and then she crept down 
to find Mary the maid. But Mary was out, so was 
the man, and Rose slipped away by the back-door, 
flattering herself that she had escaped the awkward- 
ness of having Charlie for escort. ^ 

There she was mistaken, however, for the gate had 
hardly closed behind her when a well-known tramp 
was heard, and the Prince was beside her, saying in a 
tone of penitent politeness that banished Rose’s wrath 
like magic, — 

“ You need n’t speak to me if you don’t choose, but 
I must see you safely home, cousin.” 

She turned at once, put out her hand, and answered 

heartily, — 

1 « I W as the cross one. Please forgive me, and let s 

be friends again.” 

Now that was better than a dozen sermons on the 
beauty of forgiveness, and did Charlie more good, for 
it showed him how sweet humility was, and proved 
that Rose practised as she preached. 

12* B 


274 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


He shook the hand warmly, then drew it through 
his arm and said, as if anxious to recover the good 
opinion with the loss of which he had been threat- 
ened, — 

“ Look here, Rosy, I ’ve put the ring back, and I ’m 
going to try again. But you don’t know how hard it 
is to stand being laughed at.” 

“Yes, I do! Ariadne plagues me every time I see 
her, because I don’t wear ear-rings after all the trouble 
I had getting ready for them.” 

“ Ah, but her twaddle is n’t half as bad as the chaffing 
I get. It takes a deal of pluck to hold out when you 
are told you are tied to an apron-string, and all that 
sort of thing,” sighed Charlie. 

“ I thought you had a ‘ deal of pluck,’ as you call it. 
The boys all say you are the bravest of the seven,” 
said Rose. 

“ So I am about some things, but I cannot bear to 
be laughed at.” 

“ It is hard, but if one is right won’t that make it 
easier ? ” 

“ Not to me ; it might to a pious parson like Arch.” 

“ Please don’t call him names ! I guess he has what 
is called moral courage, and you physical courage. 
Uncle explained the difference to me, and moral is the 
best, though often it doesn’t look so,” said Rose 
thoughtfully. 

Charlie didn’t like that, and answered quickly, “ I 
don’t believe he ’d stand it any better than I do, if he 
had those fellows at him.” 

“ Perhaps that ’s why he keeps out of their way, and 
wants you to.” 


PEACE-MAKING. 


275 


Rose had him there, and Charlie felt it, but would 
not give in just yet, though he was going fast, for, 
somehow, in the dark he seemed to see things clearer 
than in the light, and found it very easy to be confi- 
dential when it was “ only Rose.” 

“ If he was my brother, now, he ’d have some right 
to interfere,” began Charlie, in an injured tone. 

“ I wish he was ! ” cried Rose. 

“ So do I,” answered Charlie, and then they both 
laughed at his inconsistency. 

The laugh did them good, and when Prince spoke 
again, it was in a different tone, — pensive, not proud 
nor perverse. 

“ You see, it ’s hard upon me that I have no brothers 
and sisters. The others are better off and need n’t go 
abroad for chums if they don’t like. I am all alone, 
and I ’d be thankful even for a little sister.” 

Rose thought that very pathetic, and, overlooking 
'lie uncomplimentary word “ even” in that last sentence, 
she said, with a timid sort of earnestness that conquered 
her cousin at once, — 

“ Play I was a little sister. I know I ’m silly, but 
perhaps I ’m better than nothing, and I ’d dearly love 
to do it.” 

“ So should I ! and we will, for you are not silly, my 
dear, but a very sensible girl, we all think, and L’m 
proud to have you for a sister. There, now!” and 
Charlie looked down at the curly head bobbing along 
beside him, with real affection in his face. 

Rose gave a skip of pleasure, and laid one seal-skin 
mitten over the other on his arm, as she said hap- 
pily,— 


276 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“That's so nice of you! Now, you needn’t be 
lonely any more, and I ’ll try to fill Archie’s place till 
he comes back, for I know he will, as soon as you let 
him." 

“Well, I don’t mind telling you that while he was 
xn} 7 mate I never missed brothers and sisters, or wanted 
any one else ; but since he cast me off, I ’ll be hanged 
if I don’t feel as forlorn as old Crusoe before Friday 
turned up.” 

This burst of confidence confirmed Rose in her pur- 
pose of winning Charlie’s Mentor back to him, but the 
said no more, contented to have done so well. They 
parted excellent friends, and Prince went home, 'won- 
dering why “ a fellow did n’t mind saying things to a 
girl or woman which they would die before they ’d own 
to another fellow.” 

Rose also had some sage reflections upon the sub- 
ject, and fell asleep thinking that there were a great 
many curious things in this world, and feeling that she 
was beginning to find out some of them. 

Next day she trudged up the hill to see Archie, and 
having told him as much as she thought best about 
her talk with Charlie, begged him to forget and for- 
give. 

“ I ’ve been thinking that perhaps I ought to, though 
I am in the right. I ’m no end fond of Charlie, and 
he ’s the best-hearted lad alive ; but he can’t say No, 
and that will play the mischief with him, if he does not 
take care,” said Archie in his grave, kind way. 
“ While father was home, I was very busy with him, 
so Prince got into a set I don’t like. They try to be 
fast, and think it ’s manly, and they flatter him, and 


PEACE-MAKING. 


277 


lead him on to do all sorts of things, — play for money, 
and bet, and loaf about. I hate to have him do so, 
and tried to stop it, but went to work the wrong way, 
so we got into a mess.” 

u He is all ready to make up if you don’t say much, 
for he owned to me he was wrong ; but I don’t think 
he will own it to you, in words,” began Rose. 

“ I don’t care for that ; if he ’ll just drop those row- 
dies and come back, I ’ll hold my tongue and not 
preach. I wonder if he owes those fellows money, 
and so does n’t like to break off till he can pay it. I 
hope not, but don’t dare to ask; though, perhaps, 
Steve knows, he’s always after Prince, more’s the 
nity,” and Archie looked anxious. 

“ I think Steve does know, for he talked about debts 
of honor the day I gave him — ” There Rose stopped 
short and turned scarlet. 

But Archie ordered her to “ fess,” and had the whole 
story in five minutes, for none dared disobey the Chief. 
He completed her affliction by putting a five-dollar bill 
into her pocket by main force, looking both indignant 
and resolute as he said, — 

“ Never do so, again ; but send Steve to me, if he is 
afraid to go to his father. Charlie had nothing to do 
with that ; he would n’t borrow a penny of a girl, don’t 
think it. But that’s the harm he does Steve, who 
adores him, and tries to be like him in all things. 
Don’t say a word ; I ’ll make it all right, and no one 
shall blame you.” 

“ Oh, me ! I always make trouble by trying to help, 
and then letting out the wrong thing,” sighed Rose, 
much depress^ by her slip of the tongue. 


278 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


Archie comforted her with the novel remark that it 
was always best to tell the truth, and made her quite 
cheerful by promising to heal the breach with Charlie, 
as soon as possible. 

He kept his word so well that the very next after- 
noon, as Rose looked out of the window, she beheld 
the joyful spectacle of Archie and Prince coming up 
the avenue, arm-in-arm, as of old, talking away as if to 
make up for the unhappy silence of the past weeks. 

Rose dropped her work, hurried to the door, and, 
op’ening it wide, stood there smiling down upon them 
so happily, that the faces of the lads brightened as 
they ran up the steps eager to show that all was well 
with them. 

“ Here’s our little peace-maker ! ” said Archie, shak- 
ing hands with vigor. 

But Charlie added, with a look that made Rose very 
proud and happy, “ And my little sister.” 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


WHICH ? 


NCLE, I have discovered what girls are made 



^ for,” said Rose, the day after the reconcilia' 
tion of Archie and the Prince. 

“ Well, my dear, what is it ? ” asked Dr. Alec, who 
was “ planking the deck,” as he called his daily prom' 
snade up and down the hall. 

“ To take care of boys,” answered Rose, quite beam- 
ing with satisfaction as she spoke. “ Phebe laughed 
when I told her, and said she thought girls had better 
learn to take care of themselves first. But that ’s be 
cause she hasn’t got seven boy-cousins as I have.” 

“ She is right, nevertheless, Rosy, and so are you, for 
the two things go together, and in helping seven lads 
you are unconsciously doing much to improve one 
lass,” said Dr. Alec, stopping to nod and smile at the 
bright-faced figure resting on the old bamboo chair, 
after a lively game of battledore and shuttlecock, in 
place of a run which a storm prevented. 

“ Am I ? I’m glad of that, but really, uncle, I do 
feel as if I must take care of the boys, for they come 
to me in all sorts of troubles, and ask advice, and I 
like it so much. Only I don’t always know what to 


280 


EIGHT COUSINS . 


do, and I ’m going to consult you privately and then 
surprise them with my wisdom.” 

“ All right, my dear ; what ’s the first worry ? I see 
you have something on your little mind, so come and 
tell uncle.” 

Rose put her arm in his, and, pacing to and fro, 
told him all about Charlie, asking what she could do 
to keep him straight, and be a real sister to him. 

“ Could you make up your mind to go and stay with 
Aunt Clara a month ? ” asked the Doctor, when she 
ended. 

“ Yes, sir ; but I should n’t like it. Do you really 
want me to go ? ” 

“ The best cure for Charlie is a daily dose of Rose 
water, or Rose and water ; will you go and see that he 
takes it ? ” laughed Dr. Alec. 

“You mean that if I’m there and try to make it 
pleasant, he will stay at home and keep out of mis- 
chief?” 

“ Exactly.” 

“ But could I make it pleasant ? He would want 
the boys.” 

“ No danger but he ’d have the boys, for they swarm 
after you like bees after their queen. Have n’t you 
found that out ? ” 

“ Aunt Plen often says they never used to be here 
half so much before I came, but I never thought I 
made the difference, it seemed so natural to have them 
round.” 

“Little Modesty does n’t know what a magnet she 
is ; but she will find it out some day,” and the Doctor 
softly stroked the cheek that had grown rosy with 


WHICH ? 


281 


pleasure at the thought of being so much loved. 
“ Now, you see, if I move the magnet to Aunt Clara’s, 
the lads will go there as sure as iron to steel, and 
Charlie will be so happy at home he won’t care for 
these mischievous mates of his ; I hope,” added the 
Doctor, well knowing how hard it was to wean a 
seventeen-year-old boy from his first taste of what 
is called “ seeing life,” which, alas ! often ends in 
seeing death. 

“ I ’ll go, uncle, right away ! Aunt Clara is always 
asking me, and will be glad to get me. I shall have to 
dress and dine late, and see lots of company, and be 
very fashionable, but I ’ll try not to let it hurt me ; 
and if I get in a puzzle or worried about any thing I 
can run to you,” answered Rose, good-will conquering 
timidity. 

So it was decided, and without saying much about 
the real reason for this visit, Rose was transplanted to 
Aunt Clara’s, feeling that she had a work to do, and 
very eager to do it well. 

Dr. Alec was right about the bees, for the boys did 
follow their queen, and astonished Mrs. Clara by 
their sudden assiduity in making calls, dropping in to 
dinner, and getting up evening frolics. Charlie was a 
devoted host, and tried to show his gratitude by being 
very kind to his “ little sister,” for he guessed why she 
came, and his heart was touched by her artless endeav- 
ors to “ help him be good.” 

Rose often longed to be back in the old house, with 
the simpler pleasures and more useful duties of the life 
there ; but, having made up her mind, in spite of 
Phebe, that “ girls were made to take care of boys,” 


282 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


her motherly little soul found much to enjoy in the 
new task she had undertaken. 

It was a pretty sight to see the one earnest, sweet- 
faced girl among the flock of tall lads, trying to under- 
stand, to help and please them with a patient affection 
that worked many a small miracle unperceived. Slang, 
rough manners, and pareless habits were banished or 
bettered by the presejnce of a little gentlewoman ; and 
all the manly virtues cropping up were encouraged by 
the hearty admiration bestowed upon them by one 
whose good opinion all valued more than they con- 
fessed ; while Rose tried to imitate the good quali- 
ties she praised in them, to put away her girlish 
vanities and fears, to be strong and just and frank 
and brave as well as modest, kind, and beautiful. 

This trial worked so well that when the month was 
over, Mac and Steve demanded a visit in their turn, 
and Rose went, feeling that she would like to hear 
grim Aunt Jane say, as Aunt Clara did at parting, “ I 
wish I could keep you all my life, dear.” 

After Mac and Steve had had their turn, Archie 
and Company bore her away for some weeks ; and 
with them she was so happy, she felt as if she would 
like to stay for ever, if she could have Uncle Alec also. 

Of course, Aunt Myra could not be neglected, and, 
with secret despair, Rose went to the “ Mausoleum,” 
as the boys called her gloomy abode. Fortunately, 
she was very near home, and Dr. Alec dropped in 
so often that her visit was far less dismal than she 
expected. Between them, they actually made Aunt 
Myra laugh heartily more than once ; and Rose did 
her so much good by letting in the sunshine, singing 


wHicm 


283 


about the silent house, cooking wholesome messes, and 
amusing the old lady with funny little lectures on 
physiology, that she forgot to take her pills and gave 
up “ Mum’s Elixir,” because she slept so well, after 
the long walks and drives she was beguiled into tak- 
ing, that she needed no narcotic. 

So the winter flew rapidly away, and it was May 
before Rose was fairly settled again at home. They 
called her the “ Monthly Rose,” because she had spent 
a month with each of the aunts, and left such pleasant 
memories of bloom and fragrance behind her, that all 
wanted the family flower back again. 

Dr. Alec rejoiced greatly over his recovered treas- 
ure ; but as the time drew near when his year of ex- 
periment ended, lie had many a secret fear that Rose 
might like to make her home for the next twelvemonth 
with Aunt Jessie, or even Aunt Clara, for Charlie’s 
sake. He said nothing, but waited with much anxiety 
for the day when the matter should be decided ; and 
while he waited he did his best to finish as far as pos- 
sible the task he had begun so well. 

Rose was very happy now, being out nearly all day 
enjoying the beautiful awakening of the world, for 
spring came bright and early, as if anxious to do 
its part. The old horse-chestnuts budded round her 
windows, green things sprung up like magic in the 
garden under her hands, hardy flowers bloomed as 
fast as they could, the birds sang blithely overhead, 
and every day a chorus of pleasant voices cried, 
“Good morning, cousin, isn’t it jolly weather?” 

No one remembered the date of the eventful con- 
versation which resulted in the Doctor’s experiment 


284 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


(no one but himself at least) ; so when the aunts were 
invited to tea one Saturday they came quite unsuspi- 
ciously, and were all sitting together having a social 
chat, when Brother Alec entered with two photographs 
in his hand. 

“Do you remember that?” he said, showing one 
to Aunt Clara, who happened to be nearest. 

“Yes, indeed; it is very like her when she came. 
Quite her sad, unchildlike expression, and thin little 
face, with the big dark eyes.” 

The picture was passed round, and all agreed that 
“ it was very like Rose a year ago.” This point being 
settled, the Doctor showed the second picture, which 
was received with great approbation, and pronounced 
a “ charming likeness.” 

It certainly was, and a striking contrast to the 
first one, for it was a blooming, smiling face, full 
of girlish spirit and health, with no sign of mel- 
ancholy, though the soft eyes were thoughtful, and 
the lines about the lips betrayed a sensitive nature. 

Dr. Alec set both photographs on the chimney- 
piece, and, falling back a step or two, surveyed them 
with infinite satisfaction for several minutes, then 
wheeled round, saying briefly, as he pointed to the 
two faces, — 

“ Time is up ; how do you think my experiment 
has succeeded, ladies?” 

“ Bless me, so it is ! ” cried Aunt Plenty, dropping 
a stitch in her surprise. 

“ Beautifully, dear,” answered Aunt Peace, smiling 
entire approval. 

“She certainly has improved, but appearances are 


WHICH ? 


285 


deceitful, and she had no constitution to build upon,” 
croaked Aunt Myra. 

“I am willing to allow that, as far as mere health 
goes, the experiment is a success,” graciously ob- 
served Aunt Jane, unable to forget Rose’s kindness 
to her Mac. 

“ So' am I ; and I ’ll go farther, for I really do 
believe Alec has done wonders for the child ; she 
will be a beauty in two or three years,” added Aunt 
Clara, feeling that she could say nothing better than 
that. 

“ I always knew he would succeed, and I ’m so 
glad you all allow it, for he deserves more credit 
than you know, and more praise. than he will ever 
get,” cried Aunt Jessie, clapping her hands with 
an enthusiasm that caused Jamie’s little red stocking 
to wave like a triumphal banner in the air. 

Dr. Alec made them a splendid bow, looking much 
gratified, and then said soberly, — 

“Thank you; now the question is, shall I go 
on? — for this is only the beginning. None of you 
know the hinderances I ’ve had, the mistakes I ’ve 
made, the study I ’ve given the case, and the anxiety 
I ’ve often felt. Sister Myra is right in one thing, — 
Rose is a delicate creature, quick to flourish in the 
sunshine, and as quick to droop without it. She 
has no special weakness, but inherits her mother’s 
sensitive nature, and needs the wisest, tenderest care 
to keep a very ardent little soul from wearing out 
a finely organized little body. I think I have found 
the right treatment, and, with you to help me, I be- 
lieve we may build up a lovely and a noble woman, 
who will be a pride and comfort to us all.” 


286 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


There Dr. Alec stopped to get his breath, for he 
had spoken very earnestly, and his voice got a little 
husky over the last words. A gentle murmur from 
the aunts seemed to encourage him, and he went 
on with an engaging smile, for the good man was 
slyly trying to win all the ladies to vote for him 
when the time came. 

“Now, I don’t wish to be selfish or arbitrary, be- 
cause I am her guardian, and I shall leave Rose free 
to choose for herself. We all want her, and if she 
likes to make her home with any of you rather than 
with me, she shall do so. In fact, I encouraged her 
visits last winter, that she might see what we can all 
offer her, and judge where she will be happiest. Is 
not that the fairest way ? Will you agree to abide by 
her choice, as I do ? ” 

“ Yes, we will,” said all the aunts, in quite a flutter 
of excitement, at the prospect of having Rose for a 
whole year. 

“ Good ! she will be here directly, and then we will 
settle the question for another year. A most impor- 
tant year, mind you, for she has got a good start, and 
will blossom rapidly now if all goes well with her. 
So I beg of you don’t undo my work, but deal very 
wisely and gently with my little girl, for if any harm 
come to her, I think it would break my heart.” 

As he spoke, Dr. Alec turned his back abruptly and 
affected to be examining the pictures again ; but the 
aunts understood how dear the child was to the soli- 
tary man who had loved her mother years ago, and 
who now found his happiness in cherishing the little 
Rose who was so like her. The good ladies nodded 


WHICH t 


287 


«*nd sighed, and telegraphed to one another that none 
©f them would complain if not chosen, or ever try to 



‘'THE OOUBINS HAD BEEN A-MAYINO.” 


ob Brother Alec of his “ Heart’s Delight,” as the boy? 
ailed Rose. 

Just then a pleasant sound of happy voices came up 


288 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


from the garden, and smiles broke out on all serious 
faces. Dr. Alec turned at once, saying, as he threw 
back his head, “There she is; now for it ! ” 

The cousins had been a-Maying, and soon came flock- 
ing in laden with the spoils. 

“ Here is our bonny Scotch rose with all her thorns 
about her,” said Dr. Alec, surveying her with unusual 
pride and tenderness, as she went to show Aunt Peace 
her basket full of early flowers, fresh leaves, and curious 
lichens. 

“ Leave your clutter in the hall, boys, and sit quietly 
down if you choose to stop here, for we are busy,” said 
Aunt Plenty, shaking her finger at the turbulent clan, 
who were bubbling over with the jollity born of spring 
sunshine and healthy exercise. 

“ Of course, we choose to stay ! Would n’t miss our 
Saturday high tea for any thing,” said the Chief, as he 
restored order among his men with a nod, a word, and 
an occasional shake. 

“ What is up ? a court-martial ? ” asked Charlie, look- 
ing at the assembled ladies with affected awe and real 
curiosity, for their faces betrayed that some interesting 
business was afloat. 

Dr. Alec explained in a few words, which he made 
as brief and calm as he could ; but the effect was excit- 
ing, nevertheless, for each of the lads began at once to 
bribe, entice, and wheedle “ our cousin ” to choose his 
home. 

“You really ought to come to us for mother’s sake, 
as a relish, you know, for she must be perfectly satiated 
with boys,” began Archie, using the strongest argu- 
ment he could think of at the moment 


WHICH t 


289 


“ Oh, do ! we ’ll never slam, or bounce at you or call 
you ‘ fraid cat,’ if you only will,” besought Geordie and 
Will, distorting their countenances in the attempt to 
smile with overpowering sweetness. 

“ And I ’ll always wash my hands ’fore I touch you, 
and you shall be my dolly, ’cause Pokey’s gone away, 
and I ’ll love you hard” cried Jamie, clinging to her 
with his chubby face full of affection. 

“ Brothers and sisters ought to live together ; espe- 
cially when the brother needs some one to make home 
pleasant for him,” added Charlie, with the wheedle- 
some tone and look that Rose always found so difficult 
to resist. 

“You had her longest, and it’s our turn now; Mac 
needs her more than you do, Prince, for she’s ‘the 
light of his eyes,’ he says. Come, Rose, choose us, and 
I ’ll never use the musky pomade you hate again as long 
as I live,” said Steve, with his most killing air, as he 
offered this noble sacrifice. 

Mac peered wistfully over his goggles, saying in an 
unusually wide-awake and earnest way, — 

“ Do, cousin, then we can study chemistry together. 
My experiments don’t blow up very often now, and the 
gases are n’t at all bad when you get used to them.” 

Rose meantime had stood quite still, with the flowers 
dropping from her hands as her eyes went from one 
eager face to another, while smiles rippled over her own 
at the various enticements offered her. During the 
laugh that followed Mac’s handsome proposition, she 
looked at her uncle, whose eyes were fixed on her with 
an expression of love and longing that went to her 
heart. 


13 


m 


EIGHT COUSINS. 


“ Ah ! yes,” she thought, “ he wants me most ! I ’ve 
often longed to give him something that he wished for 
very much, and now I can.” 

So, when, at a sudden gesture from Aunt Peace, 
silence fell, Rose said slowly, with a pretty color in her 
cheeks, and a beseeching look about the room, as if 
asking pardon of the boys, — 

“ It ’s very hard to choose when everybody is so fond 
of me ; therefore I think I ’d better go to the one who 
seems to need me most.” 

“No, dear, the one you love the best and will be 
happiest with,” said Dr. Alec quickly, as a doleful sniff 
from Aunt Myra, and a murmur of “ My sainted Caro- 
line,” made Rose pause and look that way. 

“Take time, cousin ; don’t be in a hurry to make up 
your mind, and remember, ‘Codlin’s your friend,’” 
added Charlie, hopeful still. 

“ I don’t want any time ! I know who I love best, 
who I’m happiest with, and I choose uncle. Will he 
have me ? ” cried Rose, in a tone that produced a sym- 
pathetic thrill among the hearers, it was so full of ten- 
der confidence and love. 

If she really had any doubt, the look in Dr. Alec’s 
face banished it without a word, as he opened wide his 
arms, and she ran into them, feeling that home was 
there. 

No one spoke for a minute, but there were signs of 
emotion among the aunts, which warned the boys to 
bestir themselves before the water-works began to 
play. So they took hands and began to prance about 
uncle and niece, singing, with sudden inspiration, the 
nursery rhyme, — 

“ Ring around a Rosy ! ” 


WHICH ? 


291 


Of course that put an end to all sentiment, and Rose 
emerged laughing from Dr. Alec’s bosom, with the 
mark of a waistcoat button nicely imprinted on her 
left cheek. He saw it, and said with a merry kiss that 
half effaced it, “ This is my ewe lamb, and I have set 
my mark on her, so no one can steal her away.” 

That tickled the boys, and they set up a shout of 

“ Uncle had a little lamb ! ” 

But Rose hushed the noise by slipping into the cir- 
cle, and making them dance prettily, — like lads and 
lasses round a May-pole ; while Phebe, coming in with 
fresh water for the flowers, began to twitter, chirp, and 
coo, as if all the birds of the air had come to join in 
the spring revel of the eight cousins. 


END OF PART FIRST. 










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